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TiiE  L:?r.'"T 


THE 

EARTH  AND  MAN: 


LECTURES  ON 

COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY, 

in  its 

RELATION  TO  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND. 

BY 

ARNOLD  GrUYOT, 

LATE  PROF.  OP  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY  AND  HISTORY,  AT  NEUCHATEL,  SWITZERLAND. 
TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH,  BY 

C.  C.  FELTON, 

PROFESSOR    IN    HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 

Our  Earth  is  a  star  among  the  stars ;  and  should  not  we,  who  are  on  it,  prepare 
ourselves  by  it  for  the  contemplation  of  the  Universe  and  its  Author?  — Carl  Ritter. 

FOURTH   EDITION,  REVISED. 

BOSTON: 
GOULD     AND  LINCOLN, 

59  WASHINGTON  STREET. 

1  852. 


r 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1849, 
By  Gould,  Kendall  &  Lincoln, 
In  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


Stereotyped  by 
HOB  ART  &  ROB  BINS; 
NEW  ENGLAND  TYPE  AND  STEREOTYPE  FOUNDERY, 
BOSTON. 


To  C.  C.  FELTON,  Esq., 

Professor  in  Harvard  University,  Cambridge. 
My  Dear  Sir, 

It  is  to  your  friendship  that  I  owe  the  idea  and  the  possibility 
of  publishing  this  little  work  in  a  language  not  my  own.  With 
rare  kindness,  and  a  disinterestedness  still  more  rare,  you  have  placed 
at  my  disposal  your  hours  of  leisure  and  your  skilful  and  inde- 
fatigable pen.  The  book  is  yours  already,  and  I  but  renew  your  title 
to  it  by  begging  you  to  accept  this  dedication,  as  a  testimony  of 
my  heart-felt  gratitude,  and  at  the  same  time  as  a  souvenir  of  the 
long  but  pleasant  hours  of  labor  which  you  have  so  kindly  shared 
with  me  to  the  last. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


668667 


PREFACE. 


The  lectures  contained  in  the  volume  here  offered  to  the  pub- 
lic were  delivered,  by  invitation,  in  French,  between  the  17th  of 
January  and  the  24th  of  February,  of  the  present  year.  One 
of  the  halls  of  the  Lowell  Institute,  in  Boston,  was  placed,  for 
that  purpose,  at  the  author's  disposal,  by  the  liberality  of  the  Trus- 
tee, John  A.  Lowell,  Esq.  They  were  spoken  with  the  help 
only  of  a  few  notes,  and  were  not  intended,  at  the  time,  for  the 
press.  But  the  publication  having  been  desired  by  some  friends, 
and  requested  by  the  editors  of  the  Boston  Daily  Traveller,  for 
the  columns  of  that  excellent  journal,  the  author  determined  to 
write  out,  the  next  morning,  the  lecture  of  the  evening  before. 
These  rapid  pages,  translated,  from  day  to  day,  by  Mr.  C.  C.  Fel- 
ton,  Professor  in  Harvard  University,  are  collected  and  reprinted 
in  the  present  volume.  Neither  time  nor  circumstances  have  per- 
mitted any  important  alterations  ;  the  only  material  additions  are 
found  in  the  first  lecture,  the  last  part  of  which  did  not  appear  in 
the  journal,  and,  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighth,  the  portion  which 
treats  of  the  marine  currents.  This  subject,  although  announced 
in  the  programme  of  the  course,  it  was  found  necessary,  for  want 
of  time,  to  pass  over  in  silence.  As  to  the  rest,  the  lectures  have 
retained  their  original  cast,  notwithstanding  the  incongruity  which 
sometimes  happens,  of  bringing  several  different  subjects  into  the 
same  discourse. 

1* 


6 


PREFACE. 


This  brief  history  of  the  present  book  will  place  the  reader  in 
a  position  to  form  a  just  opinion  of  the  work,  and  perhaps  will 
induce  him  to  extend  to  it  some  indulgence. 

It  will,  moreover,  be  readily  understood,  that  oral  instruction 
is  naturally  clothed  in  forms  appropriate  to  itself,  which  are  not 
those  of  a  systematic  and  didactic  exposition,  such  as  is  required 
by  a  book  intended  only  for  reading,  or  for  the  silent  study  of 
the  closet.  In  the  opinion  of  the  author,  it  should  bring  out  in 
strong  relief,  even  by  venturing  a  dash  of  the  pencil  somewhat 
bold,  the  essential  traits  of  the  subject,  in  order  to  fix  and  deepen 
the  impression,  while  the  secondary  features  are  thrown  into  the 
shade.  Truth,  far  from  losing  by  this  mode,  will  gain  the  advan- 
tage of  being  grasped  in  a  manner  at  once  more  distinct  and 
more  correct.  For  nothing  is  less  indispensable  to  true  science, 
—  may  the  reader  of  these  pages  find  it  so,  — than  the  scholastic 
and  doctoral  robe,  which  is  too  often  unnecessarily  worn. 

This  little  work  is  not,  then,  a  treatise  on  the  subject  indicated 
by  its  title.  The  author  would  wish  to  consider  this  unforeseen 
publication  only  as  the  forerunner  of  a  more  complete  work,  the 
materials  of  which,  gradually  collected  during  long  years  of  study, 
and  still  daily  accumulating,  he  hopes  to  arrange,  and  work  out 
more  at  leisure,  if  not  in  the  same  form,  at  least  in  the  same 
spirit.  However,  he  is  confident  that  the  man  of  science  will  find, 
in  this  first  sketch,  the  traces  of  serious  and  matured  studies. 

Numerous  quotations  and  references  were  incompatible  with 
the  form  of  these  discourses.  The  facts,  properly  so  called,  are 
drawn  from  the  common  domain  of  science  ;  and  as  to  the  results 
that  have  been  deduced  from  their  combination,  the  author  wil- 
lingly leaves  to  men  versed  in  the  subject  the  task  of  distinguish- 
ing those  which  may  be  regarded  as  constituting  a  progress  in 
knowledge  of  the  creation,  and  of  its  relations  to  man. 

There  are,  however,  three  names  so  closely  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  science  to  which  this  volume  is  devoted,  and  with 
the  past  studies  of  the  author,  that  he  feels  bound  to  mention 
them  here.    Humboldt,  Hitter,  and  Steffens,  are  the  three  great 


PREFACE. 


7 


minds  who  have  breathed  a  new  life  into  the  science  of  the  phys- 
ical and  moral  world.  The  scientific  life  of  the  author  opened 
under  the  full  radiance  of  the  light  they  spread  around  them,  and 
it  is  with  a  sentiment  of  filial  piety  that  he  delights  to  recall  this 
connection,  and  to  render  to  them  his  public  homage. 

Notwithstanding  the  praiseworthy  care  the  publishers  of  this 
volume  have  taken  to  provide  it  with  the  maps  and  drawings 
necessary  to  understand  the  text,  the  reader  will  perhaps  desire 
more.  He  will  find  them  in  the  Physical  Atlas  of  Berghaus,  the 
most  excellent,  and  almost  the  only  work  of  the  kind,  or  in  the 
English  publications  based  on  it,  by  J ohnston  of  Edinburgh,  by 
A.  Petermann  of  London,  and  others.  The  explanatory  pages 
give  the  information  necessary  for  the  plates  that  accompany  these 
sheets.  For  their  execution  on  stone,  the  author  deems  himself 
happy  in  having  been  able  to  avail  himself  of  the  talents  of  an 
artist  so  able  and  obliging  as  M.  Sonrel. 

Besides  Prof.  Felton,  who  has  read  all  the  proof-sheets,  the 
author  returns  his  sincere  acknowledgments  to  Professors  Agas- 
siz,  Peirce,  and  Gray,  who  have  had  the  goodness  to  revise  por- 
tions of  them. 

Few  subjects  seem  more  worthy  to  occupy  thoughtful  minds, 
than  the  contemplation  of  the  grand  harmonies  of  nature  and 
history.  The  spectacle  of  the  good  and  the  beautiful  in  nature, 
reflecting  everywhere  the  idea  of  the  Creator,  calms  and  refreshes 
the  soul.  The  view  of  the  hand  of  Providence,  guiding  the  chariot 
of  human  destinies,  reassures  and  strengthens  our  faith.  May 
these  unpretending  sheets,  launched  upon  the  sea  of  publicity, 
reach  those  who  feel  the  need  of  both,  and  by  them  be  kindly 
received. 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  May  1,  1849. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


The  marked  favor  with  which  the  public,  here  and  abroad,* 
have  received  this  essay,  imposed  on  the  author  the  duty  of  care- 
fully revising  it.  But  the  time  of  its  first  appearance  is  so  recent, 
that  no  important  alterations  are  to  be  made.  Except  a  few  addi- 
tions of  facts  quite  recently  acquired  for  science,  particularly  in 
the  paragraph  relating  to  the  sub-marine  relief  of  the  basin  of  the 
oceans,  the  work  has  remained,  in  substance,  what  it  was.  Not 
so  with  the  translation.  The  translator,  exercising  a  severer  crit- 
icism than  the  reader  upon  his  own  work,  has  carefully  revised, 
improved,  and  corrected  it ;  and  the  author  seizes  this  occasion 
to  repeat  his  thanks  for  this  fresh  endeavor  to  render  these  sheets 
more  worthy  of  the  public  approbation. 

If  there  is  any  reward  worthy  of  desire  to  him  who  communi- 
cates his  thoughts  to  his  fellow-men,  it  is  that  of  meeting,  in  the 
midst  of  throngs  preoccupied  with  so  many  diversified  cares,  an  echo 
and  sympathy.  This  gratification  has  not  been  wanting  to  the 
author,  and  he  recalls  with  gratitude  the  numerous  testimonies  he 
has  received  from  so  many  quarters.  He  finds  in  these  mani- 
festations an  encouragement  to  continue  his  work,  and  to  prepare 
a  second  volume,  on  the  Historical  Development  of  Humanity, 
which  he  considers  as  the  necessary  complement  to  the  present. 

Cambridge,  July,  1850. 

*  This  volume  has  been  republished  in  London,  by  Bentley,  and  an  edition 
in  French  is  about  to  appear  at  Paris.  A  mutilated  edition,  called  M  revised," 
has  also  been  published  by  E.  Gover,  Sen.,  London,  in  which  many  passages, 
amounting  to  over  thirty  pages  of  the  original  edition,  and  essential  to  the  con- 
tinuity of  the  argument,  or  containing  conclusions,  have  been  suppressed  ; 
additions  have  been  inserted  expressing  views  not  advanced  by  the  author ; 
alterations  have  been  made,  in  exceedingly  bad  English,  all  without  the  least 
intimation  in  the  preface.  Against  the  two  first,  the  author  protests  ;  against 
the  last,  the  translator. 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  PLATES  AND  FIGURES. 


PLATE  I.   Physical  Map  of  the  "World. 

This  map,  in  Mercator's  projection,  is  intended  to  enable  the  eye  to 
seize  at  a  glance  the  great  physical  features  of  the  surface  of  the  globe. 
To  this  end,  each  particular  is  indicated  by  a  different  color.  The 
color  of  the  ocean  forms  a  ground  which  clearly  defines  and  brings  out 
the  characteristic  forms  of  the  continents.  The  bands  of  white  lines 
which  cross  them  indicate  the  course  of  the  marine  currents,  according 
to  the  Physical  Map  of  Berghaus.  The  arrows  mark  their  direction. 
In  the  continents,  three  colors  distinguish  the  three  principal  forms  of 
relief  from  each  other.  The  green  tint  marks  the  low  lands;  the 
white,  the  more  elevated  parts  and  the  table  lands  ;  the  brown,  the 
systems  of  mountains,  the  borders  of  the  table  lands,  and  the  slopes  in 
general.  It  is  easy  thus  to  form  by  a  single  glance  an  idea  of  the 
general  features  of  relief  of  the  different  countries  of  the  earth.  The 
dotted  lines  which  cross  the  map  are,  beginning  at  the  top,  the  Arctic 
circle,  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  and  the  tropic  of  Capricorn.  The  entirely 
straight  line  is  the  Equator.  The  latitudes  are  marked  in  the  margin 
by  a  line  for  every  15°.  The  longitudes  in  the  same  way,  by  15°  East 
and  "West  from  the  meridian  of  Paris.  The  two  winding  lines  in  the 
northern  half  of  the  map  are  the  isothermal  lines  of  zero  Centigrade 
or  32°  Fahrenheit,  and  of  15°  Centigrade  or  59°  Fahrenheit.  All  the 
places  situated  on  these  lines,  having  the  same  mean  annual  tempera- 
ture, set  in  a  clear  light  the  difference  of  climate  between  the  opposite 
coasts  of  the  continents,  while  referring  it  to  the  true  causes.  Every 
letter  has  been  omitted  from  this  little  map,  which  is  intended  to  be  a 
physical  picture,  and  to  speak  to  the  eye.  The  scale,  moreover, 
scarcely  allowed  their  insertion,  and  the  great  features  which  it  repre- 
sents are  so  well  known  that  there  is  no  need  of  naming  them. 


10 


EXPLANATION. 


PLATES  II.  AND  III.  (pp.  60,  61.) 

These  plates  contain  a  series  of  ideal  profiles  intended  to  illustrate 
the  general  laws  of  relief  of  the  continents.  The  profiles  comprise 
each  a  transverse  zone  rather  than  a  simple  line,  which  often  would 
have  answered  but  imperfectly  the  proposed  end.  The  relation  of  the 
heights  to  the  horizontal  distances  would  have  to  be  magnified  about 
one  hundred  times.  The  numbers  placed  in  the  margin,  indicate  the 
heights  in  thousands  of  feet.  The  letters  placed  at  the  top  of  the  verti- 
cal dotted  lines,  are  the  initials  of  the  names  of  the  principal  points 
contained  in  the  tables  ;  when  the  same  initial  is  repeated,  the  second 
in  the  order  of  the  table  is  marked  thus  :  ('  ).  The  profiles  of  the  massive 
and  entire  parts  of  the  continents,  comprising  the  plains  and  table 
lands,  are  distinguished  from  the  heights  which  surround  them,  or  the 
mountain  chains,  by  a  particular  line,  by  different  hatchings,  and 
deeper  shading.  The  peaks,  which  are  merely  indicated  above  the 
base  line,  without  being  connected,  are  either  mountains  situated 
outside  of  the  zone,  followed  by  the  profile,  as  the  Carpathian  and 
Mont-Blanc,  in  Europe,  Plate  II.  profile  5  ;  or  volcanic  peaks,  isolated, 
not  affecting  the  general  relief,  as  the  Erdschich,  in  Asia  Minor,  Plate 
II.  profile  4  3  the  Ararat,  in  Armenia,  Plate  III.  profile  1.  Plate  II. 
profile  3 ;  the  St.  Elias,  in  North  America. 

Plate  II.  comprises  7  profiles  across  the  three  principal  continents  of 
the  Old  "World,  in  the  direction  from  north  to  south.  In  profile  1, 
Eastern  Asia,  and  profile  6,  Africa,  the  line  of  horizontal  distances 
being  too  considerable  to  be  ta-ken  into  the  frame,  the  profiles  are  inter- 
rupted to  indicate  that  one  portion  of  the  horizontal  line  has  been 
suppressed.  In  the  profile  of  Eastern  Asia  the  portion  omitted  is 
almost  equal  to  the  less  section.    In  Africa  it  is  much  larger  still. 

Plate  III.  comprises  the  profiles  of  the  New  "World,  from  east  to 
west.  No.  2,  passing  along  the  line  of  the  Antilles,  is  necessarily 
broken.  But  the  gradual  increase  of  the  reliefs  and  their  disposition 
prove  that  this  line  ought  to  be  considered  in  reality  continuous, 
although  at  some  points  it  is  covered  by  the  waters  of  the  ocean.  The 
profiles  are  arranged  in  the  plates  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show,  at 
once,  in  the  vertical  line,  the  increase  of  the  reliefs  from  west  to  east 
in  the  Old  World,  and  from  north  to  south  in  the  New  World.  The 
text  itself  makes  further  explanation  unnecessary. 


EXPLANATION. 


11 


PLATE  IV.    Map  of  the  Distribution  of  Rain. 

This  map,  taken  from  the  Plrysical  Atlas  of  Berghaus,  shows  the 
distribution  of  rain  on  the  surface  of  the  globe.  The  deeper  the  color, 
the  greater  is  the  quantity  of  rain-water  indicated ;  the  deserts  are  left 
in  white.  North  and  south  of  the  tropics,  which  are  marked  by  dotted 
lines,  are  the  regions  of  continuous,  but  not  abundant  rains.  Between 
the  tropics,  the  region  of  periodical  and  copious  rains.  A  little  north 
of  the  Equator  a  deeper  shaded  strip  indicates  the  region  of  calms, 
where  daily  thunder  storms  cause  almost  throughout  the  year  the  fall 
of  a  considerable  quantity  of  water. 

PLATES  V.  AND  VI., 

Intended  to  illustrate  the  law  of  the  degeneration  of  the  human  type 
in  leaving  the  central  region  of  Western  Asia,  comprise  16  portraits, 
all  drawn  from  nature,  and  taken  from  the  plates  of  the  "  Animal 
Kingdom  "  of  Cuvier,  wherever  a  dilFerent  source  is  not  indicated. 

Plate  V.  First  Series.  From  the  central  regions  of  Western  Asia, 
to  the  extremity  of  Africa,  through  Arabia  and  the  eastern  coast. 

No.  1.  A  Circassian,  belonging  to  the  suite  of  the  Persian  Ambas- 
sador ;  drawn  from  the  life,  at  Paris,  in  1823,  by  M.  A.  Colin. 

No.  2.  An  Arab  of  Algiers,  of  the  Mozabite  tribe  ;  drawn  from  life, 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Milne  Edwards,  by  A.  Lordon. 

No.  3.  A  negro  of  Mozambique,  on  the  south-east  coast  of  Africa ; 
drawn  from  life,  in  Brazil,  by  Rugendas. 

No.  4.  Joshua  Makoniane,  an  old  Bassouto  warrior,  a  convert  to 
Christianity,  drawn  from  life  by  Mr.  Maeder,  of  the  French  Mission  to 
South  Africa.    Journal  des  Missions  Evangeliques  de  Paris,  Vol.  XX. 

Second  Series.    From  Europe  to  tropical  Africa,  by  the  western  coast. 

No.  5.  Portrait  of  Captain  Cook,  painted  by  Dauce,  in  the  gallery 
of  the  Naval  Hospital  at  Greenwich.  Geographical  Almanac  of 
Berghaus. 

No.  6.  A  Cabyle  of  Flissa,  in  Algeria;  drawn  from  life  by  A. 
Lordon. 

No.  7.  Senegal  Chief,  after  an  unpublished  drawing  by  an  officer  in 
the  expedition  of  Captain  Laplace. 

No.  8.  A  Negro  of  Congo  j  drawn  from  nature  by  Rugendas,  Voyage 
Pittoresque  au  Bresil. 

Plate  VI.  First  Series. 

No.  1.  Mongolian  type,  portrait  of  one  of  the  Siamese  twins,  seen 
in  Europe  in  1830,  after  a  drawing  made  from  nature,  at  Paris. 


12 


EXPLANATION. 


No.  2.  Malay,  belonging  to  the  group  of  the  KoutousofF  Smolensky, 
from  a  plate  in  the  work  of  Choris,  Voyage  du  Rurick. 

No.  3.  New  Holland.  Portrait  of  Onrou-Mare;  a  warrior  of  the  tribe 
of  the  Gwea-Gul,  from  the  Atlas  du  Voyage  aux  Terres  Australes. 

No.  4.  A  woman  of  Van  Diemen,  from  P  Atlas  de  P Astrolabe. 

Second  Series.  America,  from  the  sources  of  the  Missouri  to  Terra 
del  Fuego ;  and  the  Polar  variety. 

No.  5.  Oto  Indian,  portrait  taken  from  the  Travels  of  Prince  Max- 
imilian of  Neuwied. 

No.  6.  Coroado  Indian,  from  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Xipoto,  one  of 
the  tributaries  of  the  Rio  Pomba,  in  tropical  South  America,  after  a 
portrait  published  by  Spix  and  Martius. 

No.  7.  An  inhabitant  of  Terra  del  Fuego ;  Univers  Pittoresque. 

No.  8.  Inhabitant  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  after  Choris  -}  Voyage  of 
Zotzebue. 

Fig.  1.  page  43.    Land  Hemisphere,  and  Water  Hemisphere. 

Fig.  2.  page  106.    Europe  at  the  Silurian  Epoch. 

Fig.  3.  page  108.    America  at  the  Coal  Epoch. 

Fig.  4.  page  111.    Europe  at  the  Tertiary  Epoch. 

These  three  last  maps,  intended  to  show  the  gradual  increase  of  the 
dry  lands,  do  not  so  much  indicate  the  real  contours  of  the  lands  exist- 
ing at  those  epochs,  —  this  would  be  impossible,  —  as  the  portions 
which  have  not  since  been  covered  by  the  waters  of  the  ocean.  The 
white  portions  are  the  only  dry  land.  All  the  portions  in  ruled  lines 
are  under  water  j  but  the  existing  contours  of  the  continents  are  repre- 
sented by  means  of  a  lighter  shade,  as  a  point  of  comparison.  The 
maps  Fig.  2,  and  Fig.  4,  have  been  constructed  after  the  geological 
maps  of  Elie  de  Beaumont,  (in  Beant  geologie,)  Boue,  and  Dechen  ; 
the  map  Fig.  3,  after  the  geological  map  of  the  United  States,  by  Mr. 
James  Hall,  completed  by  that  of  Sir  Charles  Lyell  and  the  geological 
map  of  the  world,  by  Boue. 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  I. 

Subject  of  the  course  —  What  should  be  understood  by  Geography 
—  Definition  of  Physical  Geography  —  The  life  of  the  globe  —  Impor- 
tance of  the  geographical  forms  of  contour  and  relief,  and  of  their 
relative  situation  —  The  Earth  as  the  theatre  of  human  societies  — 
Different  parts  performed  by  the  continents  in  history  —  Asia,  Europe, 
America  —  Inquiry  into  the  analogies  of  the  general  forms  of  the 
continents  19 

LECTURE  II. 

Recapitulation  —  Vertical  dimensions  or  forms  of  relief — Difficul- 
ties presented  by  their  study  —  Usefulness  of  profiles  —  Great  influence 
of  differences  of  height  —  Elevations  in  mass,  and  linear  elevations  — 
Importance  of  the  former  —  Labors  of  Humboldt  and  Ritter  on  this 
subject  —  Examination  of  the  general  features  of  relief  of  the  conti- 
nents —  A  great  common  law  embracing  them  all.      .      .  .49 

2 


14 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  III. 

Distribution  of  the  table  lands,  the  mountains,  and  the  plains,  in  the 
different  continents  ;  the  Old  World  that  of  plateaus,  the  New  World 
that  of  plains  —  The  basin  of  the  oceans  j  this  inquiry  completes  the 
study  of  the  plastic  forms  of  the  earth's  crust  —  Division  and  char- 
acteristics of  the  oceans  ;  their  contours  and  their  depth  —  Comparison 
of  the  latter  with  the  mean  elevation  of  the  continents  —  Conclusions 
—  Necessity  of  considering  the  physiology  of  the  continental  forms  — 
Point  of  view  which  should  be  taken  —  Law  of  the  development  of 
life  73 

LECTURE  IV. 

Recapitulation  —  Is  the  law  of  development  applicable  to  the  whole 
globe,  considered  as  an  individual  ?  —  Origin  of  the  Earth,  according  to 
the  hypotheses  of  Laplace  and  Herschell  —  Gradual  formation  of  the 
continents  —  Europe  at  the  Silurian  epoch  —  North  America  at  the 
Carboniferous  epoch  —  Character  of  inferiority  of  the  organized  beings 
which  correspond  to  these  ancient  formations  —  Europe  at  the  Tertiary 
epoch  —  Greater  diversity  and  perfection  of  the  organized  beings  — 
Distinction  of  the  three  epochs ;  the  insular,  the  maritime,  and  the 
continental  —  The  formula  of  development  the  same  for  the  entire 
globe  and  for  the  organized  beings  —  Consequences  —  The  law  of 
differences  and  the  law  of  contrasts  —  The  three  grand  terrestrial 
contrasts  *  100 

LECTURE  V. 

The  North-east  or  Continental  hemisphere,  and  the  South-west  or 
Oceanic  hemisphere  —  Land  and  water  —  Differences  in  the  forms  of 
their  surfaces  —  Continental  climate  and  sea  climate  —  Their  different 
influences  upon  the  vegetation  and  organized  beings  —  The  oceanic 
the  inferior  element ;  the  terrestrial  element  the  superior  —  Blending 
of  the  two  natures  —  Transportation  of  the  waters  of  the  ocean  into  the 
continents  —  The  atmosphere  the  mediator  between  them.    .  .118 


CONTENTS. 


15 


LECTURE  VI. 

The  study  of  the  distribution  of  the  rains  supposes  that  of  the 
winds  —  Difference  of  temperature  the  principal  cause  of  the  winds  — 
Theory  of  the  general  winds  —  The  winds  of  the  tropical  regions 

—  Trade  winds  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  —  Trade  winds  of  the  Atlantic  — 
The  monsoons  of  the  Indian  seas  —  The  winds  of  the  temperate 
regions  —  Two  general  currents  ;  the  return  trade  wind,  or  equatorial 
wind,  and  the  polar  currents  —  The  conflicts  of  the  two,  and  the 
variable  winds  —  Lateral  displacement  of  the  currents,  and  their  influ- 
ence upon  the  temperature,  the  productions  of  the  soil,  and  commerce 

—  The  law  of  the  rotation  of  the  winds  —  The  atmospheric  water 
falling  back  into  rain  —  Circumstances  favorable  to  the  precipitation 
of  vapors  —  The  rains  of  the  tropical  zone  —  The  rains  in  the  region 
of  the  monsoons  —  Annual  quantity  of  the  rain-water  under  the 
tropics  —  Distribution  and  annual  quantity  of  the  rain  in  the  temperate 
regions  132 


LECTURE  VII. 

Modifications  of  the  general  laws  of  distribution  of  the  rains  — 
Decrease  of  the  quantity  of  rain  waters  and  of  rainy  days,  from  the 
sea-board  towards  the  inlands  —  Numerous  exceptions,  and  their 
causes  —  Influence  of  the  mountains  and  the  table  lands  in  the  two 
worlds  —  Distribution  of  rain  in  South  America  ;  in  North  America  ; 
in  Africa  j  in  Europe  ;  in  Asia  ;  in  Australia  —  Special  hygrometrical 
character  of  each  continent  —  Difference  between  the  Old  and  the 
New  World,  corresponding  to  the  nature  of  their  relief — Mixture  of 
the  continental  and  the  oceanic  element  —  Influence  on  organized 
beings  —  Superiority  of  the  zone  of  contact,  or  the  maritime  zone.  160 


16 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  VIII. 

The  marine  currents  —  The  motion  of  the  seas  due  to  other  causss 
ihan  that  of  the  continental  waters — Various  causes  of  the  marine 
currents  —  Differences  of  temperature  the  principal,  acting  indirectly 
by  the  winds,  directly  by  the  unequal  density  of  the  waters  —  Coinci- 
dence between  the  great  atmospheric  currents  and  the  marine  currents 
—  System  of  general  currents  —  The  Equatorial  current  and  the  Polar 
currents  —  The  currents  of  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  of  the  Indian  Ocean ; 
of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  —  Contrast  of  the  Old  World  and  the  New  — 
Disposition  of  their  continental  masses  —  Consequences  —  The  Old 
World  the  Continental;  the  New  the  Oceanic  —  The  first  essentially 
temperate,  the  second  tropical  —  Special  character  of  the  New  World  — 
Its  structure  more  simple  —  Abundance  of  its  waters — Vegetation 
predominates  on  the  Animal  World  —  Incomplete  development  of 
the  higher  animals  —  Influence  on  the  indigenous  man  —  Conclu- 
sions 186 

LECTURE  IX. 

Geographical  characteristics  of  the  Old  World  —  The  Continent  of 
Asia-Europe  —  Comparison  of  its  structure  with  that  of  America  — 
The  continental  climate  prevailing  in  the  Old  World  —  Consequences 
— Vegetation  less  abundant  —  Preponderance  of  the  animal  world  — 
The  Old  World  the  country  of  the  higher  and  historical  races  — 
Reciprocal  action  of  the  two  worlds  by  means  of  man  —  Establish- 
ment of  the  man  of  the  Old  World  in  the  New  —  Historical  America 
compared  with  Europe  —  Alliance  of  the  two  worlds  ;  solution  of  the 
contrast  219 


CONTENTS. 


17 


LECTURE  X. 

Contrast  of  the  three  continents  of  the  North  and  the  three  conti- 
nents of  the  South  —  Physical  characteristics  of  the  two  groups  j  the 
former  more  articulated,  more  consolidated,  more  similar ;  the  latter 
more  entire,  more  isolated,  more  different  —  These  differences  and 
analogies  reproduced  in  the  vegetation  and  the  animal  world  —  The 
three  continents  of  the  North  temperate ;  the  three  of  the  South 
tropical  —  Superiority  of  the  tropical  climate  in  nature  —  Gradual 
increase  of  life,  of  the  variety  and  improvement  of  the  types  of  organ- 
ized beings,  in  proportion  to  the  warmth,  from  the  poles  to  the  equa- 
torial regions  —  Man  alone  forms  an  exception  —  Law  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  human  races  —  Geographical  centre  of  mankind 
marked  by  the  race  of  the  highest  perfection  —  Gradual  degeneracy 
of  the  human  type  towards  the  southern  extremities  of  the  continents 

—  The  geographical  distribution  of  the  races  of  man  and  the  animals 
founded  upon  a  different  principle  —  Advantage  of  the  temperate 
climate  for  the  improvement  of  man  240 

LECTURE  XI. 

The  continents  of  the  North  considered  as  the  theatre  of  history  — 
Asia-Europe  ;  contrast  of  the  North  and  South ;  its  influence  in 
history  j  conflict  of  the  barbarous  nations  of  the  North  with  the 
civilized  nations  of  the  South  —  Contrast  of  the  East  and  "West  — 
Eastern  Asia  a  continent  by  itself  and  complete  ;  its  nature  ;  the 
Mongolian  race  belongs  peculiarly  to  it  j  character  of  its  civilization 

—  Superiority  of  the  Hindoo  civilization  ;  reason  why  these  nations 
have  remained  stationary  —  "Western  Asia  and  Europe;  the  country 
of  the  truly  historical  races  —  Western  Asia  ;  physical  description  j  its 
historical  character  :  Europe  —  the  best  organized  for  the  development 
of  man  and  of  societies  j  America  —  future  to  which  it  is  destined  by 
its  physical  nature.  272 

2* 


18 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  XII. 

Geographical  march  of  history  —  Asia  the  cradle  of  civilization  — 
Common  character  of  the  primitive  nations  —  Powerful  influence  of 
nature  —  The  human  race  in  its  infancy  lives  under  authority,  which 
becomes  slavery  —  Civilization  passes  to  Europe  —  Greece  ;  period  of 
youth  ;  emancipation,  and  intellectual  and  moral  development ;  action 
on  the  East  and  West ;  the  Greek  the  teacher  of  the  world  —  Rome  j 
her  work  political  and  social  —  Inability  of  the  Ancient  "World  to 
attain  the  end  of  humanity  —  Coming  of  Christ ;  his  doctrines  new  in 
a  historical  point  of  view  —  The  Germanic  Christian  world  begins 
their  application  —  Civilization  passes  to  the  North,  and  embraces 
all  Europe ;  its  different  phases  —  Europe  owes  it  to  the  rest  of  the 
world  —  Discovery  of  America  —  Universal  inroad  of  the  civilized 
nations  —  Social  work  begun  at  the  same  time  —  America  must  finish 
it  —  The  people  of  the  future  ;  by  what  signs  recognized  —  Conclu- 
sions —  Foreseen  solution  of  the  contrast  of  the  three  Northern  conti- 
nents and  the  three  Southern  —  Duties  of  the  privileged  races  towards 
the  inferior  —  A  few  words  upon  the  method  pursued  —  Science  and 
faith  299 


THE 

EARTH  AND  MAN. 


LECTURE  I. 

Subject  of  the  course  —  What  should  be  understood  by  Geography  — 
Definition  of  Physical  Geography  —  The  life  of  the  globe  —  Impor- 
tance of  the  geographical  forms  of  contour  and  relief,  and  of  their 
relative  situation  —  The  Earth  as  the  theatre  of  human  societies  — 
Different  parts  performed  by  the  continents  in  history  —  Asia,  Eu- 
rope, America  —  Inquiry  into  the  analogies  of  the  general  forms  of 
the  continents. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

In  asking  your  attention  to  a  few  scientific  discourses, 
in  a  language  not  your  own,  I  have  not  disguised  from 
myself  that  this  circumstance  is  perhaps  a  source  of 
embarrassment  for  some  of  you,  as  it  certainly  is  for  me. 
In  the  communion  of  mind  with  mind,  in  the  mutual 
interchange  of  ideas,  the  first  condition  necessary  for 
establishing  between  him  who  speaks  and  those  that 
hear,  the  sympathetic  harmony  which  makes  its  charm, 
is,  that  the  word  shall  reach  the  understanding  without 
obstacle  and  without  effort. 

In  my  favor  you  have  made  the  sacrifice  of  your  lan- 
guage.   I  need  not  tell  you,  that,  on  my  part.  I  will  do 


20 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


all  in  my  power  to  render  that  sacrifice  less  irksome ;  and 
I  shall  always  be  desirous  of  giving  to  those  who  will 
do  me  the  favor  to  ask  it,  all  the  explanations  which 
they  can  require. 

The  subject  to  which  I  propose  to  call  your  attention, 
is  Comparative  Physical  Geography,  considered  in  its 
relations  to  the  history  and  the  destinies  of  mankind. 
But  the  term  geography  has  been  applied  to  such  dif- 
ferent things,  the  use,  the  misuse  rather  to  which  it  has 
been  subjected,  has  rendered  it  so  elastic  and  ill-defined, 
that,  in  order  to  prevent  misconception,  I  must  first  of 
all  explain  to  you  what  I  understand  by  Geography. 

If,  preserving  the  etymological  sense  of  the  word 
geography,  we  should,  with  many  authors,  undertake  to 
limit  this  study  to  a  simple  description  of  the  surface  of 
the  globe  and  of  the  beings  which  are  found  there,  we 
must  at  once  renounce  the  idea  of  calling  it  by  the  name 
of  science,  in  the  lofty  sense  of  this  word.  To  describe, 
without  rising  to  the  causes,  or  descending  to  the  con- 
sequences, is  no  more  science,  than  merely  and  simply 
to  relate  a  fact  of  which  one  has  been  a  witness.  The 
geographer,  who  thus  understands  his  study,  seems  to 
make  as  little  of  geography  as  the  chronicler  of  history. 
It  would  be  easy  to  show  that  even  the  power  of 
describing  well  ought  to  be  denied  him ;  for  if  he  re- 
nounces the  study  of  the  laws  which  have  presided  over 
the  creation,  over  the  disposition  of  the  terrestrial  indi- 
viduals in  their  different  orders :  if  he  will  take  no  ac- 
count of  those  which  have  given  birth  to  the  phenomena 
4hat  he  wishes  to  describe,  soon,  overwhelmed  beneath 
the  mass  of  details,  of  whose  relative  value  he  is  igno- 


INTRODUCTION. 


21 


rant,  without  a  guide  and  without  a  rule  to  make  a 
judicious  choice  in  the  midst  of  this  infinite  variety  of 
partial  observations,  he  remains  incapable  of  mastering 
them,  of  grouping  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  bring 
prominently  forward  those  which  must  give  character  to 
the  whole,  and  thus  dooms  himself  to  a  barren  confusion 
at  least ;  happy,  if,  in  place  of  a  faithful  picture  of  na- 
ture, he  does  not  finally  profess  to  give  us,  as  such,  the 
strangest  caricature. 

No!  Geography- — and  I  regret  here  that  usage  for- 
bids me  to  employ  the  most  suitable  word,  Geology,  to 
designate  the  general  science  of  which  I  speak  —  Geog- 
raphy ought  to  be  something  different  from  a  mere 
description.  It  should  not  only  describe,  it  should  com- 
pare, it  should  interpret,  it  should  rise  to  the  how  and 
the  wherefore  of  the  phenomena  which  it  describes.  It 
is  not  enough  for  it  coldly  to  anatomize  the  globe,  by 
merely  taking  cognizance  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
various  parts  which  constitute  it.  It  must  endeavor  to 
seize  those  incessant  mutual  actions  of  the  different  por- 
tions of  physical  nature  upon  each  other,  of  inorganic 
nature  upon  organized  beings,  upon  man  in  particular, 
and  upon  the  successive  development  of  human  societies; 
in  a  word,  studying  the  reciprocal  action  of  all  these 
forces,  the  perpetual  play  of  which  constitutes  what  might 
be  called  the  life  of  the  globe,  it  should,  if  I  may  venture 
to  say  so,  inquire  into  its  physiology.  To  understand 
it  in  any  other  way,  is  to  deprive  geography  of  its  vital 
principle ;  is  to  make  it  a  collection  of  partial,  unmean- 
ing facts ;  is  to  fasten  upon  it  forever  that  character  of 
dryness,  for  which  it  has  so  often  and  so  justly  been 


22 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


reproached.  For  what  is  dryness  in  a  science,  except 
the  absence  of  those  principles,  of  those  ideas,  of  those 
general  results,  by  which  well-constituted  minds  are 
nurtured  ? 

Physical  geography,  therefore,  ought  to  be,  not  only 
the  description  of  our  earth,  but  the  physical  science  of 
the  globe,  or  the  science  of  the  general  phenomena  of 
the  present  life  of  the  globe,  in  reference  to  their  connec- 
tion and  their  mutual  dependence. 

This  is  the  geography  of  Humboldt  and  of  Ritter. 

But  I  speak  of  the  life  of  the  globe,  of  the  physiology 
of  the  great  terrestrial  forms !  These  terms  may  per- 
haps seem  here  to  be  misapplied. 

I  ask  your  permission  to  justify  them,  for  I  cannot  find 
better,  to  express  what  appears  to  me  to  be  the  truth. 

Far  from  me  the  idea  of  attempting  to  assimilate  this 
general  life  of  the  inorganic  nature  of  the  globe  to  the 
individual  life  of  the  plant  or  the  animal,  as  some 
unwise  philosophers  have  done.  I  know  well  the  wide 
distance  which  separates  inorganic  from  organized 
nature.  I  will  even  go  further  than  is  ordinarily  done, 
and  I  will  say  that  there  is  an  impassable  chasm  be- 
tween the  mineral  and  the  plant,  between  the  plant  and 
the  animal,  an  impassable  chasm  between  the  animal 
and  the  man.  But  this  nature,  represented  as  dead, 
and  contrasted  in  common  language  with  living  nature, 
because  it  has  not  the  same  life  with  the  animal  or 
the  plant,  is  it  then  bereft  of  all  life?  If  it  has 
not  life,  we  must  acknowledge  that  it  has  at  least  the 
appearances  of  life.  Has  it  not  motion  in  the  water 
which  streams  and  gushes  over  the  surface  of  the  con- 


INTRODUCTION. 


23 


tinents,  or  which  tosses  in  the  bosom  of  the  seas  ?  —  in 
the  winds  which  course  with  terrible  rapidity  and  sweep 
the  soil  that  we  tread  under  our  feet,  covering  it  with 
ruins?  Has  it  not  its  sympathies  and  antipathies 
in  those  mysterious  elective  affinities  of  the  different 
molecules  of  matter  which  chemistry  investigates  7  Has 
it  not  the  powerful  attractions  of  bodies  to  each  other, 
which  govern  the  motions  of  the  stars  scattered  in  the 
immensity  of  space,  and  keep  them  in  an  admirable 
harmony  ?  Do  we  not  see,  and  always  with  a  secret 
astonishment,  the  magnetic  needle  agitated  at  the  ap- 
proach of  a  particle  of  iron,  and  leaping  under  the  fire 
of  the  Northern  light  ?  Place  any  material  body  what- 
soever by  the  side  of  another,  do  they  not  immediately 
enter  into  relations  of  interchange,  of  molecular  attrac- 
tion, of  electricity,  of  magnetism  ?  The  disturbance  of 
the  equilibrium  at  one  point  induces  another  elsewhere, 
and  the  movement  is  propagated  to  infinity.  And  what 
will  it  be,  if  we  rise  to  the  contemplation  of  all  the 
phenomena  of  this  order  together,  exhibited  by  a  vast 
country,  by  an  entire  continent  ? 

Thus,  in  inorganic  nature  likewise,  all  is  acting,  all 
is  changing,  all  is  undergoing  transformation.  Doubt- 
less this  is  not  the  life  of  the  organized  being,  the  life  of 
the  animal ;  but  is  not  this  assemblage  of  phenomena 
also  a  life  ?  If,  taking  life  in  its  most  simple  aspect,  we 
define  it  as  a  mutual  exchange  of  relations,  we  cannot 
refuse  this  name  to  those  lively  actions  and  reactions,  to 
that  perpetual  play  of  the  forces  of  matter,  of  which  we 
are  every  day  the  witnesses.  Yes,  gentlemen,  it  is  indeed 
life,  but  undoubtedly  in  a  very  inferior  order  of  things. 


24 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


It  is  life;  the  thousand  voices  of  nature  which  make 
themselves  heard  around  us,  and  which  in  so  many 
ways  betray  that  incessant  and  prodigious  activity, 
proclaim  it  so  loudly  that  we  cannot  shut  our  ears  to 
their  language. 

This  general  life,  this  physical  and  chemical  life,  be- 
longs to  all  matter.  It  is  the  basis  of  the  existence  of 
all  superior  beings,  not  as  the  source,  but  as  the  condi- 
tion. It  is  in  the  plant,  it  is  in  the  animal ;  only  here  it 
is  subservient  to  a  principle  of  higher  life  of  a  spiritual 
nature,  of  a  principle  of  unity,  the  mysterious  force  of 
which,  referring  all  to  a  centre,  modifies  it,  'controls  it, 
and  organizes  it,  for  the  benefit  of  an  individual. 

Now  it  is  precisely  this  internal  principle  of  unity 
belonging  to  organized  nature,  which  is  wanting  in  in- 
dividuals of  inorganic  nature ;  and  that  is  the  difference. 

In  inorganic  nature,  the  bodies  are  only  simple  ag- 
gregations of  parts,  homogeneous  or  heterogeneous,  and 
differing  among  themselves,  the  combination  of  which 
seems  to  be  accidental.  Nevertheless,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  law  that  assigns  to  each  species  of  mineral  a  par- 
ticular form  of  crystallization,  we  see  that  every  aggrega- 
tion, fortuitous  in  appearance,  may  constitute  a  whole, 
with  limits,  and  a  determinate  form,  which,  without 
having  anything  of  absolute  necessity,  gives  to  it,  how- 
ever, the  first  lineaments  of  individuality.  Such  are  the 
various  geographical  regions,  the  islands,  the  peninsulas, 
the  continents  ;  the  Antilles,  for  example,  England,  Italy, 
Asia,  Europe,  North  America.  Each  of  these  terrestrial 
masses,  considered  as  a  whole,  as  an  individual,  has  a 
particular  disposition  of  its  parts,  of  the  forms  which 


INTRODUCTION. 


25 


belong  only  to  it,  a  situation  relatively  to  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  and  with  respect  to  the  seas  or  the  neighboring 
masses,  not  found  identically  repeated  in  any  other. 

All  these  various  causes  excite  and  combine,  in  a 
manner  infinitely  varied,  the  play  of  the  physical  forces 
inherent  in  the  matter  composing  them,  and  secure  to 
each  a  climate,  a  vegetation,  and  animal  life;  in  a 
word,  an  assemblage  of  physical  characters  and  func- 
tions peculiar  to  it,  and  really  giving  it  something  of 
individuality. 

It  is  in  this  sense  that  we  shall  speak  of  the  great 
geographical  individuals,  that  we  shall  be  able  to  define 
them,  to  indicate  their  characters,  to  mark  their  differ- 
ences ;  in  a  word,  to  apply  to  them  that  comparative 
study,  without  which  there  is  no  true  science.  But  let 
us  not  forget  that  these  individuals  have  the  cause  of 
their  existence,  not  within,  like  organized  beings,  but 
without,  in  the  very  circumstances  of  their  aggregation. 
Hence,  gentlemen,  the  great  importance  of  external 
form ;  the  importance  of  the  geographical  forms  of  con- 
tour, of  relief  of  the  terrestrial  surface ;  of  the  relations 
of  size,  of  extent,  of  relative  position.  In  considering 
them  simply  in  a  geological  point  of  view,  it  may  appear 
quite  accidental  that  such  a  plain  should  or  should  not 
have  risen  from  the  bosom  of  the  waters ;  that  such  a 
mountain  rises  at  this  place  or  that ;  that  such  a  con- 
tinent should  be  cut  up  into  peninsulas,  or  piled  into  a 
compact  mass,  accompanied  by,  or  deprived  of,  islands. 
When,  finally,  we  reflect  that  a  depression  of  a  few 
hundred  feet,  which  would  make  no  change  in  the 
essential  forms  of  the  solid  mass  of  the  globe,  would 
3 


2G 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


cause  a  great  part  of  Asia  and  of  Europe  to  disappear 
beneath  the  water  of  the  oceans,  and  would  reduce 
America  to  a  few  large  islands,  we  might  he  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  external  shape  of  the  continents  has 
but  an  inconsiderable  importance. 

But,  in  physics,  neither  of  these  circumstances  is 
unimportant.  Simple  examples,  without  further  dem- 
onstration, will  be  sufficient  to  set  this  in  a  clear  light. 

Is  the  question  of  the  forms  of  contour?  Nothing 
characterizes  Europe  better  than  the  variety  of  its 
indentations,  of  its  peninsulas,  of  its  islands.  Suppose, 
for  a  moment,  that  beautiful  Italy,  Greece  with  its 
entire  Archipelago,  were  added  to  the  central  mass  of 
the  continent,  and  augmented  Germany  or  Russia  by  the 
number  of  square  miles  they  contain ;  this  change  of 
form  would  not  give  us  another  Germany,  but  we  should 
have  an  Italy  and  a  Greece  the  less.  Unite  with  the 
body  of  Europe  all  its  islands  and  peninsulas  into  one 
compact  mass,  and  instead  of  this  continent,  so  rich  in 
various  elements,  you  will  have  a  New  Holland  with 
all  its  uniformity. 

Do  we  look  to  the  forms  of  relief,  of  height  1  Is  it  a 
matter  of  indifference  whether  an  entire  country  is  lifted 
into  the  dry  and  cold  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  like  the 
central  table  land  of  Asia,  or  is  placed  on  the  level  of 
the  ocean  ?  See,  under  the  same  sky,  the  warm  and  fer- 
tile plains  of  Hindoostan,  adorned  with  the  brilliant  vege- 
tation of  the  tropics,  and  the  cold  and  desert  plateaus  of 
Upper  Tubet ;  compare  the  burning  region  of  Vera  Cruz 
and  its  fevers,  with  the  lofty  plains  of  Mexico  and  its 
perpetual  spring ;  the  immense  forests  of  the  Amazon. 


INTRODUCTION. 


27 


where  vegetation  puts  forth  all  its  splendors,  and  the 
desolate  paramos  of  the  summits  of  the  Andes,  and  you 
have  the  answer. 

And  the  relative  position  1  Do  not  the  three  penin- 
sulas of  the  south  of  Europe  owe  to  their  position  their 
mild  and  soft  climate,  their  lovely  landscape,  their  numer- 
ous relations,  and  their  common  life  ?  Is  it  not  to  their 
situation  that  the  two  great  peninsulas  of  India  are  in- 
debted for  their  rich  nature,  and  the  conspicuous  part 
one  of  them,  at  least,  has  played  in  all  ages  1  Place  them 
on  the  north  of  their  continents,  Italy  and  Greece  become 
Scandinavia,  and  India  a  Kamtschatka. 

All  Europe  is  indebted  for  its  temperate  atmosphere  to 
its  position  relatively  to  the  great  marine  and  atmos- 
pheric currents,  and  to  the  vicinity  of  the  burning  regions 
of  Africa.  Place  it  at  the  east  of  Asia,  it  will  be  only  a 
frozen  peninsula. 

Suppose  the  Andes,  transferred  to  the  eastern  coast  of 
South  America,  hindered  the  trade  wind  from  bearing 
the  vapors  of  the  ocean  into  the  interior  of  the  continent, 
and  the  plains  of  the  Amazon  and  of  Paraguay  would 
be  nothing  but  a  desert. 

In  the  same  manner,  if  the  Rocky  Mountains  bordered 
the  eastern  coast  of  North  America,  and  closed  against 
the  nations  of  the  East  and  of  Europe  the  entrance  to 
the  rich  valley  of  the  Mississippi;  or  if  this  immense 
chain  extended  from  east  to  west  across  the  northern 
part  of  thi§  continent,  and  barred  the  passage  of  the  polar 
winds,  which  now  rush  unobstructed  over  these  vast 
plains ;  —  let  us  say  even  less :  if,  preserving  all  the  great 
present  features  of  this  continent,  we  suppose  only  that 


28 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


the  interior  plains  were  slightly  inclined  towards  the 
north,  and  that  the  Mississippi  emptied  into  the  Frozen 
Ocean,  who  does  not  see  that,  in  these  various  cases,  the 
relations  of  warmth  and  moisture,  the  climate,  in  a  word, 
and  with  it  the  vegetation  and  the  animal  world,  would 
undergo  the  most  important  modifications,  and  that  these 
changes  of  form  and  of  relative  position  would  have  an 
influence  greater  still  upon  the  destinies  of  human  socie- 
ties, both  in  the  present  and  in  the  future  ? 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  examples ;  but  I  do  not 
wish  to  anticipate  the  results  that  will  be  brought  out 
by  the  more  exact  study  of  these  phenomena,  which  we 
are  about  to  undertake.  It  is  enough  for  me  to  have 
opened  a  view  of  the  important  part  performed  by  all 
these  physical  circumstances,  and  the  necessity  of  study- 
ing them  with  the  most  scrupulous  care. 

Let  us  not,  then,  despise  the  study  of  these  outward 
forms,  the  influence  of  which  is  so  evident.  They  are 
everything  in  this  class  of  things. 

We  shall  see  all  the  great  phenomena  of  the  physical 
and  individual  life  of  the  continents,  and  their  functions 
in  the  great  whole,  flowing  from  the  forms  and  the  rela- 
tive situation  of  the  great  terrestrial  masses,  placed  under 
the  influence  of  the  general  forces  of  nature. 

But,  gentlemen,  it  is  not  enough  to  have  seized,  in  this 
point  of  view,  entirely  physical  as  yet,  the  functions  of 
the  great  masses  of  the  continents.  They  have,  others, 
still  more  important,  which,  if  rightly  understood,  ought 
to  be  considered  as  the  final  end  for  which  they  have 
received  their  existence.  To  understand  and  appreciate 
them  at  their  full  value,  to  study  them  in  their  true  point 


INTRODUCTION. 


29 


of  view,  we  must  rise  to  a  higher  position.  We  must 
elevate  ourselves  to  the  moral  world  to  understand  the 
physical  world;  the  physical  world  has  no  meaning 
except  by  and  for  the  moral  world. 
'  It  is,  in  fact,  the  universal  law  of  all  that  exists  in 
finite  nature,  not  to  have,  in  itself,  either  the  reason  ox 
the  entire  aim  of  its  own  existence.  Every  being  exists, 
not  only  for  itself,  but  forms  necessarily  a  portion  of  a 
great  whole,  of  which  the  plan  and  the  idea  go  infinitely 
beyond  it,  and  in  which  it  is  destined  to  play  a  part. 
Thus  inorganic  nature  exists,  not  only  for  itself,  but 
to  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  life  of  the  plant  and  the 
animal ;  and  in  their  service  it  performs  functions  of  a 
kind  greatly  superior  to  those  assigned  to  it  by  the  laws 
which  are  purely  physical  and  chemical.  In  the  same 
manner,  all  nature,  our  globe,  admirable  as  is  its  arrange- 
ment, is  not  the  final  end  of  creation ;  but  it  is  the 
condition  of  the  existence  of  man.  It  answers  as  an 
instrument  by  which  his  education  is  accomplished,  and 
performs,  in  his  service,  functions  more  exalted  and  more 
noble  than  its  own  nature,  and  for  which  it  was  made. 
The  superior  being  then  solicits,  so  to  speak,  the  creation 
of  the  inferior  being,  and  associates  it  to  his  own  func- 
tions; and  it  is  correct  to  say  that  inorganic  nature  is 
made  for  organized  nature,  and  the  whole  globe  for  man, 
as  both  are  made  for  God,  the  origin  and  end  of  all 
things. 

Science  thus  comprehends  the  whole  of  created  things, 
as  a  vast  harmony,  all  the  parts  of  which  are  closely  con- 
nected together,  and  presuppose  each  other. 

Considered  in  this  point  of  view,  the  earth,  and  ail  it 

3* 


30 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


contains,  the  continents  in  particular,  with  the  whole  of 
their  organized  nature,  all  the  forms  they  present,  acquire 
a  new  meaning  and  a  new  aspect. 

It  is  as  the  abode  of  man,  and  the  theatre  for  the 
action  of  human  societies ;  it  is  as  the  means  of  the  edu- 
cation of  entire  humanity,  that  we  shall  have  to  consider 
them,  to  appreciate  the  value  of  each  of  the  physical 
characters  which  distinguish  them. 

The  first  glance  we  throw  upon  the  two-fold  domain 
of  nature  and  of  history,  is  enough  to  show  that  the  parts 
performed  by  the  different  countries  of  the  globe,  in  the 
progress  of  civilization,  present  very  great  differences. 
The  three  continents  of  the  South,  Australia,  Africa,  —  I 
except  Egypt,  which  scarcely  belongs  to  it,  —  and  South 
America,  have  not  seen  the  birth  of  either  of  the  great 
forms  of  civilization  which  have  exercised  an  influence 
on  the  progress  of  the  race.  Down  to  times  very  near 
our  own,  the  scene  of  history  has  hardly  passed  the 
boundaries  of  Asia  and  of  Europe.  Upon  these  two 
continents  of  the  Ancient  World,  all  the  interests  of  the 
great  drama,  in  which  we  are  at  once  actors  and  spec- 
tators, is  concentrated.  Another  continent,  that  of  North 
America,  has  just  been  added,  and  is  preparing  itself  to 
play  a  part  of  the  first  importance. 

In  the  earliest  ages  of  the  world,  Asia  shines  alone.  It 
is  at  once  the  cradle  of  civilization,  and  that  of  the  na- 
tions which  are  the  only  representatives  of  culture,  and 
which  are  carrying  it,  in  our  days,  to  the  extremities  of 
the  world.  Its  gigantic  proportions,  the  almost  infinite 
diversity  of  its  soil,  its  central  situation,  would  render  it 
suitable  to  be  the  continent  of  the  germs,  and  the  root 


INTRODUCTION. 


31 


of  that  immense  tree  which  is  now  bearing  such  beau- 
tiful fruits. 

But  Asia  has  yielded  to  Europe  the  sceptre  of  civili- 
zation for  two  thousand  years.  At  the  present  day, 
Europe  is  still  unquestionably  the  first  of  the  civilizing 
continents.  Nowhere  on  the  surface  of  our  planet  has 
the  mind  of  man  risen  to  a  sublimer  height ;  nowhere 
has  man  known  so  well  how  to  subdue  nature,  and  to 
make  her  the  instrument  of  intelligence.  The  nations 
of  Europe,  to  whom  we  all  belong,  represent  not  only 
the  highest  intellectual  growth  which  the  human  race 
has  attained  at  any  epoch,  but  they  rule  already  over 
nearly  every  part  of  the  globe,  and  are  preparing  to  push 
their  conquests  further  still.  Here,  evidently,  is  the 
central  point,  the  focus  where  all  the  noblest  powers  of 
humanity,  in  a  prodigious  activity,  are  concentrating 
themselves.  This  part  of  the  world  is,  then,  the  first  in 
power,  the  luminous  side  of  our  planet,  the  full-grown 
flower  of  the  terrestrial  globe. 

And  yet  what  a  contrast  between  this  moral  grandeur 
and  the  material  greatness  of  this,  the  smallest  of  the 
continents  !  Nothing  in  it  strikes  us  at  the  first  glance. 
Europe  does  not  astonish  us  by  those  vast  areas  which 
the  neighboring  continent  of  Asia  embraces.  Its  loftiest 
mountains  scarcely  reach  to  half  the  height  of  the  Hima- 
laya and  the  Andes.  Its  plateaus,  those  of  Bavaria  and 
Spain,  hardly  deserve  the  name,  by  the  side  of  those  of 
Tubet  and  of  Mexico.  Its  peninsulas,  what  are  they  in 
comparison  with  India  and  Arabia,  each  of  which  forms 
a  world  by  itself?  Its  seas,  the  Mediterranean  and  its 
gulfs,  are  far  from  having  the  proportions  of  the  vast 


32 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


ocean  which  bathes  the  Asiatic  peninsulas.  Nowhere 
those  great  rivers,  those  immense  streams,  that  water 
the  boundless  plains  of  Asia  and  America,  and  are  their 
pride.  Nowhere  those  virgin  forests,  which  cover  im- 
mense regions,  and  make  them  impenetrable  to  man ; 
none  of  those  deserts,  whose  startling  and  terrible  aspect, 
under  other  climes,  appalls  us  by  their  immensity.  We 
see  there  neither  the  exuberant  fruitfulness  of  the  tropi- 
cal regions,  nor  the  vast  frozen  tracts  of  Siberia ;  we  feel 
there  neither  the  overwhelming  heats  of  the  equator,  nor 
those  extremes  of  cold  which  annihilate  all  organic  life. 

In  the  productions  of  organized  nature,  the  same  mod- 
esty still.  The  plants,  the  trees,  do  not  attain  to  the 
height  and  growth  which  astonish  us  in  the  regions  of 
the  tropics.  Neither  the  flowers,  nor  the  insects,  nor  the 
birds,  show  that  variety  and  brilliancy  of  colors,  which 
distinguish  the  corolla  of  the  flowers,  and  the  plumage 
of  the  birds,  bathed  incessantly  in  the  waves  of  light  of 
the  equatorial  sun.  All  the  tints  are  softened  and  tem- 
pered down. 

How  reconcile  this  apparent  inferiority  with  the  bril- 
liant part  Europe  has  performed  among  the  other  con- 
tinents ?  This  coincidence  between  the  development  of 
humanity  in  Europe,  and  the  physical  nature  of  this 
continent,  can  it  have  been  only  an  accident  ?  Or  may 
this  part  of  the  world  have  concealed,  under  such  modest 
appearances,  some  real  superiorities,  which  have  ren- 
dered it  more  suitable  than  any  other  to  play  so  distin- 
guished a  part  in  the  history  of  the  world?  This  is  a 
problem,  stated  by  the  great  facts  I  am  pointing  out,  the 
solution  of  which  we  must  seek  by  study. 


INTRODUCTION. 


33 


But  a  third  continent,  unknown  in  the  history  of 
ancient  days,  North  America,  has  also  entered  th^  list, 
and  is  advancing  with  giant  steps ;  for  it  has  not  to  re- 
commence the  work  of  civilization ;  civilization  is  trans- 
ported thither  ready  made.  The  old  nations  of  Europe, 
exhausted  by  the  difficulties  of  every  kind  which  oppose 
their  march,  turn  with  hope  their  wearied  eyes  towards 
this  new  world,  for  them  the  land  of  the  future.  Men 
of  all  languages,  of  every  country,  are  bringing  hither 
the  most  various  elements,  and  preparing  the  germs  of 
the  richest  growth.  The  simplicity  and  the  grandeur 
of  its  forms,  the  extent  of  the  spaces  over  which  it  rules, 
seem  to  have  prepared  it  to  become  the  abode  of  the 
most  vast  and  powerful  association  of  men  that  has  ever 
existed  on  the  surface  of  the  globe.  The  fertility  of  its 
soil ;  its  position,  in  the  midst  of  the  oceans,  between  the 
extremes  of  Europe  and  of  Asia,  facilitating  commerce 
with  these  two  worlds ;  the  proximity  of  the  rich  tropi- 
cal countries  of  Central  and  South  America,  towards 
which,  as  by  a  natural  descent,  it  is  borne  by  the  waters 
of  the  majestic  Mississippi,  and  of  its  thousand  tributary 
streams ;  all  these  advantages  seem  to  promise  its  labor 
and  activity  a  prosperity  without,  example.  It  belongs 
not  to  man  to  read  in  the  future  the  decrees  of  Provi- 
dence. But  science  may  attempt  to  comprehend  the 
purposes  of  God,  as  to  the  destinies  of  nations,  by  exam- 
ining with  care  the  theatre,  seemingly  arranged  by  Him 
f  >r  the  realization  of  the  new  social  order,  towards  which 
humanity  is  tending  with  hope.  For  the  order  of  nature 
is  a  foreshadowing  of  that  which  is  to  be. 

Such,  gentlemen,  are  the  great  problems  our  study 


34 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


lays  before  us.  We  shall  endeavor  to  solve  them  by 
studying,  first,  the  characteristic  forms  of  the  continents, 
the  influence  of  these  forms  on  the  physical  life  of  the 
globe;  then,  the  historical  development  of  humanity. 
We  shall  have  succeeded,  if  we  may  have  shown  to  you, 

1.  That  the  forms,  the  arrangement,  and  the  distri- 
bution, of  the  terrestrial  masses  on  the  surface  of  the 
globe,  accidental  in  appearance,  yet  reveal  a  plan  which 
we  are  enabled  to  understand  by  the  evolutions  of 
history. 

2.  That  the  continents  are  made  for  human  societies, 
as  the  body  is  made  for  the  soul. 

3.  That  each  of  the  northern  or  historical  continents 
is  peculiarly  adapted,  by  its  nature,  to  perform  a  special 
part  corresponding  to  the  wants  of  humanity  in  one  of 
the  great  phases  of  its  history. 

Thus,  nature  and  history,  the  earth  and  man,  stand 
in  the  closest  relations  to  each  other,  and  form  only  one 
grand  harmony. 

Gentlemen,  I  may  treat  this  beautiful  subject  inade- 
quately ;  but  I  have  a  deep  conviction  that  it  is  worthy 
to  occupy  your  leisure,  as  it  will  occupy  for  a  long  time 
to  come,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  most  exalted  minds, 
and  those  most  ripened  for  elevated  researches.  For 
him  who  can  embrace  with  a  glance  the  great  harmo- 
nies of  nature  and  of  history,  there  is  here  the  most 
admirable  plan  to  study;  there  are  the  past  and  future 
destinies  of  the  nations  to  decipher,  traced  in  ineffaceable 
characters  by  the  finger  of  Him  who  governs  the  world. 
Admirable  order  of  the  Supreme  Intelligence  and  Good- 
ness, which  has  arranged  all  for  the  great  purpose  of 


FIGURE  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


35 


the  education  of  man,  and  the  realization  of  the  plans 
of  Mercy  for  his  sake  ! 

Be  pleased  always  to  remember,  in  my  favor  more 
than  for  yourselves,  that  the  path  of  science  is  often  diffi- 
cult and  beset  with  rugged  cliffs.  The  traveller  doubt- 
less gathers  many  flowers  on  the  way.  But  the  tree  of 
Science,  which  bears  the  noblest  fruits,  is  placed  high  up 
on  precipitous  rocks.  It  holds  out  to  our  view  these 
precious  fruits  from  afar.  Happy  he  who  by  his  efforts 
may  pluck  ons-  of  them,  even  were  it  the  humblest.  He 
values  it,  then,  by  what  it  has  cost  him.  I  have  made 
the  attempt,  and  this  fruit  I  offer  to  you.  In  default  of 
beauty,  may  you  find  therein  the  savor  that  I  have  tasted 
myself. 

After  what  we  have  just  said  of  the  importance  of  the 
geographical  forms  of  the  crust  of  the  globe,  you  will  not 
be  surprised,  gentlemen,  that  these  very  forms  of  contour 
and  relief,  although  so  far  entirely  outside,  and  the 
arrangement  of  the  great  terrestrial  masses,  are  to  be  the 
first  subject  to  occupy  our  attention. 

Each  of  these  masses  is  a  solid,  of  which  we  are  not 
able  to  ascertain  the  configuration,  except  by  considering 
it  at  once  in  its  horizontal  dimensions  and  in  its  vertical 
dimensions ;  that  is,  in  its  extent  and  in  its  contours ; 
then  in  the  varieties  of  relief  which  its  surface  presents. 
It  is  in  this  twofold  point  of  view,  and  that  of  their 
relative  situation,  that  we  must  first  of  all  study  them. 

The  contours  of  the  continents,  as  they  are  shown  by 
the  maps  before  your  eyes,  are  nothing  else  than  the 
delineation  of  the  line  of  contact  between  the  lands  and 


36 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


the  horizontal  surface  of  the  oceans.  This  line  is  a  true 
curve  of  level,  the  sinuosities  of  which  depend  entirely 
upon  the  plastic  forms  of  the  continent  itself.  It  would 
change  its  form  completely  by  the  relative  depression  or 
elevation  of  the  seas.  Such  as  it  is,  it  presents  us  an 
almost  infinite  variety  of  bends,  in  and  out,  which  at  the 
first  glance  seem  perfectly  irregular  and  accidental.  Yet 
a  more  attentive  study,  and  a  comparison  of  the  charac- 
teristic figures  of  the  continents,  enable  us  to  perceive 
certain  features  of  resemblance  and  a  general  disposition 
of  their  parts,  which  seem  to  indicate,  as  we  shall  see 
by-and-by,  the  existence  of  a  common  law  which  must 
have  presided  over  their  formation. 

These  grand  analogies,  and  these  characteristic  differ- 
ences of  form  and  grouping,  simple  and  evident  as  they 
appear  to  us  when  they  have  once  been  pointed  out  to 
our  attention,  have  nevertheless  been  discovered  only  by 
degrees,  and  in  succession,  by  the  most  eminent  minds. 

Lord  Bacon,  the  restorer  of  the  physical  sciences,  first 
opened  the  way  by  remarking  that  the  southern  extremi- 
ties of  the  two  worlds  terminate  in  a  point,  turned  to- 
wards the  Southern  Ocean,  while  they  go  on  widening 
towards  the  north. 

After  him,  Reinhold  Forster,  the  learned  and  judicious 
companion  of  Captain  Cook  in  his  second  voyage  round 
the  world,  took  up  this  observation  and  developed  it  to  a 
much  greater  extent.  He  points  out  substantially  three 
analogies,  three  coincidences  in  the  structure  of  the 
continents. 

The  first  is  that  the  southern  points  of  all  the  con- 
tinents are  high  and  rocky,  and  seem  to  be  the  extremi- 


FIGURE  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


37 


ties  of  mountain  belts,  which  come  from  far  in  the 
interior,  and  break  off  abruptly,  without  transition,  at 
the  shore  of  the  ocean.  Thus  America,  which  terminates 
in  the  rocky  precipices  of  Cape  Horn,  the  last  represen- 
tatives of  the  already  broken  chain  of  the  Andes ;  thus 
Africa,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  with  its  high  plateaus 
and  its  Table  Mountain,  which  rises  from  the  bosom  of 
the  ocean  to  a  height  of  more  than  4,000  feet  ;  thus  Asia, 
with  the  peninsula  of  the  Deccan,  which  sends  out  the 
chain  of  the  Ghauts  to  form  the  high  rocks  of  Cape 
Comorin;  Australia,  lastly,  whose  southern  extremity 
presents,  at  Cape  Southeast,  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  the 
same  abrupt  and  massive  nature. 

A  second  analogy  is,  that  the  continents  have,  east  of 
the  southern  points,  a  large  island,  or  a  group  of  islands 
more  or  less  considerable.  America  has  the  Falkland 
Islands;  Africa,  Madagascar  and  the  volcanic  islands 
which  surround  it ;  Asia  has  Ceylon ;  and  Australia,  the 
two  great  islands  of  New  Zealand. 

A  third  peculiarity  of  configuration,  common  to  these 
same  parts  of  the  world,  is  a  deep  bend  of  their  western 
side  towards  the  interior  of  the  continent.  On  this  side 
their  flanks  are  as  if  hollowed  into  a  vast  gulf.  In 
America,  the  concave  summit  of  this  inflection  is  in- 
dicated by  the  position  of  Arica,  at  the  foot  of  the  high 
Cordillera  of  Bolivia.  In  Africa,  the  Gulf  of  Guinea 
expresses  more  strongly  still  this  characteristic  feature. 
It  is  more  feebly  marked  in  Asia  by  the  Gulf  of  Cam- 
baye,  and  the  Indo-Persian  Sea;  it  reappears  fully  in 
Australia,  where  the  Gulf  of  Nuyts  occupies  almost  the 
whole  southern  side. 

4 


38 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Forster  did  not  stop  here.  Seeking  to  explain  to  him- 
self these  remarkable  coincidences  in  the  structure  of 
the  great  terrestrial  masses,  he  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that  they  were  due  to  a  single  cause,  and  that  this  cause 
was  a  great  cataclysm  coming  from  the  south-west. 
The  waters  of  the  ocean,  dashing  violently  against 
the  barrier  the  continents  opposed  to  them,  ground 
away  their  sides  with  fury,  scooped  out  the  deep  gulf 
open  towards  the  south-west,  swept  off  all  the  movable 
earth  from  the  southern  side,  and  left  nothing  standing 
but  those  rocky  points,  that  formed  only  the  skeleton. 
The  islands  on  the  east  would  be  only  the  accumulated 
ruins  of  this  great  catastrophe,  or  the  pieces  of  the  conti- 
nent protected  from  total  destruction  by  the  jutting  point 
which  received  the  first  shock. 

This  hypothesis,  bold  as  it  is  ingenious,  was  admitted 
by  several  of  the  most  distinguished  contemporaries  of 
Forster.  Pallas,  among  others,  the  celebrated  northern 
traveller,  inclines  to  receive  this  general  cataclysm  from 
the  south-west,  which  seems  to  him  to  explain  the  great 
geological  phenomena  he  had  observed  in  the  north  of 
Asia.  He  attributes  to  it  the  hollowing  out  of  the  deep 
gulfs  which  cut  into  the  south  of  Europe  and  of  Asia, 
and  the  formation  of  the  great  plains  on  the  north,  of 
those  of  Siberia,  in  particular. 

The  whole  ground,  according  to  him,  would  be  com-  • 
posed  of  earth  torn  from  the  southern  countries,  trans- 
ported by  the  waves  of  the  ocean,  and  by  them  deposited 
in  these  places,  after  their  fury  had  been  spent  upon  the 
Himalaya,  or  the  great  table  land  of  Asia.  It  is  thus 
that  he  explains  the  presence  in  Siberia  of  fossil  ek> 


FIGURE    OF  THE  CONTINENTS, 


39 


phants  and  of  mammoths,  and  a  multitude  of  other 
animals  and  plants  which  live  at  the  present  day  only 
under  the  sky  of  the  tropics.  He  remarked,  moreover, 
in  support  of  this  hypothesis,  that  the  disproportion  ex- 
isting between  the  extent  of  the  part  of  Asia  situated 
south  of  the  Himalaya,  compared  with  that  of  the  vast 
plains  which  flank  the  north  of  the  central  mass  of  the 
continent,  seems  to  indicate  that  a  great  portion  of  these 
southern  regions  has  been  carried  away  by  this  great 
flood.  Pallas,  lastly,  applies  the  same  observation  to 
America,  the  western  part  of  which  is  reduced  to  a 
narrow  strip,  while  the  region  east  of  the  Andes  makes 
almost  the  whole  of  the  continent, 

Seductive  as  this  idea  is  at  the  first  glance,  it  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  all  that  modern  geology 
has  taught  upon  the  structure  of  the  mountains,  their 
rise,  and  the  composition  of  the  soil,  forbid  us  to  adopt 
it.  It  dates  from  a  period  when  the  mind,  struck  for  the 
first  time  with  the  revolutions  of  the  globe,  of  which  it 
saw  the  traces  everywhere,  found  no  force  sufficiently 
powerful  to  bring  them  about,  and  when  water,  in  par- 
ticular, seemed  the  only  agent  that  could  be  resorted 
to  for  their  explanation.  Nevertheless,  it  has  the  merit 
of  binding  together,  and  of  fixing,  in  a  precise  manner, 
certain  great  facts,  the  existence  of  which  is  incon- 
testable. 

At  a  later  period  Humboldt  also  shows  that  he  is 
watching  those  general  phenomena  of  the  configuration 
of  the  continents,  seemingly  destined  to  reveal  the  secret 
of  their  formation.  He  first  calls  our  attention  to  the 
singular  parallelism  existing  between  the  two  sides 


40 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


of  the  Atlantic.  The  salient  angles  of  the  one  cor- 
respond to  the  reentering  angles  of  the  other ;  Cape  St. 
Roque  in  America,  to  the  Gulf  of  Guinea ;  the  head-land 
of  Africa,  of  which  Cape  Verd  is  the  extreme  point,  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  so  that  this  ocean  takes  the  form  of 
a  great  valley,  like  those  the  mountainous  countries  pre- 
sent in  such  numbers. 

Steifens  pushed  the  study  of  these  analogies  of  the 
structure  of  the  continents  further  still,  and  the  picture 
which  he  gives  us  of  them  opens  several  new  views 
upon  the  subject.  He  remarks,  first,  that  the  lands  ex- 
pand and  come  together  towards  the  north,  while  they 
separate  and  narrow  down  to  points  in  the  south.  Now 
this  tendency  is  marked,  not  only  in  the  principal  masses 
of  the  continents,  but  also  in  all  the  important  peninsulas 
which  detach  themselves  from  it.  Greenland,  Cali- 
fornia, Florida,  in  America ;  Scandinavia,  Spain,  Italy, 
and  Greece,  in  Europe;  the  two  Indies,  Corea,  Kam- 
tschatka,  in  Asia,  all  have  their  points  turned  towards 
the  south. 

Passing  to  the  grouping  of  the  continents  among 
themselves,  this  learned  man  brings  to  our  view  the  fact 
that  these  great  terrestrial  masses  are  grouped  two  by 
two,  in  three  double  worlds,  of  which  the  two  component 
parts  are  united  together  by  an  isthmus,  or  by  a  chain 
of  islands ;  moreover,  on  one  side  of  the  isthmus  is  found 
an  archipelago,  on  the  opposite  side  a  peninsula. 

The  purest  type  of  this  grouping  of  the  continents  is 
America.  Its  two  halves,  North  America  and  South 
America,  are  nearly  equal  in  size,  and  similar  in  form  ; 
they  form,  so  to  speak,  an  equilibrium.    The  isthmus 


FIGURE  OF  THE  CONTINENTS.  41 

which  unites  them  is  long  and  narrow.  The  archipelago 
on  the  east,  that  of  the  Antilles,  is  considerable;  the 
peninsula  on  the  west,  California,  without  being  greatly 
extended,  is  clearly  outlined. 

The  two  other  double  worlds  are  less  regular,  less 
"  symmetrical.  First,  the  component  continents  are  of 
unequal  size;  then  the  two  northern  continents  are 
united,  and,  as  it  were,  joined  back  to  back.  Steffens 
divides  them  by  a  line  passing  through  the  Caucasus, 
and  coming  out  upon  the  Persian  Gulf.  He  thus  recom- 
bines  with  Europe  a  part  of  Western  Asia  and  Arabia, 
and  gives  Africa  for  its  corresponding  continent.  They 
are  united  by  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  the  shortest  and  most 
northern  of  all.  The  peninsula  found  on  the  east  is 
Arabia,  which  is  of  considerable  size;  the  archipelago 
on  the  west  is  that  of  Greece,  which  is  comparatively  of 
small  importance. 

This  relation  is  evidently,  gentlemen,  as  you  will 
agree,  a  forced  one.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  it  would 
be  easy  to  reestablish  the  analogy,  so  far  as  the  irregu- 
larity of  structure  in  the  European  continent  permits,  by 
considering  Italy  and  Sicily,  which  almost  touch  Africa 
by  Cape  Bon,  as  the  true  isthmus.  The  archipelago  is 
then  found  on  the  east,  according  to  the  rule,  and  the 
peninsula,  Spain,  on  the  west. 

The  third  double  world,  Asia- Australia,  is  more  nor- 
mal ;  it  approaches  nearer  the  type.  The  isthmus 
which  unites  them  is  broken,  it  is  true.  But  that  long, 
continuous  chain  of  islands,  stretching  without  deviation 
from  the  peninsula  of  Malacca,  by  Sumatra,  Java,  and 
the  other  islands  of  the  Sonde,  to  New  Holland,  offers 
4^ 


42 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


so  striking  an  analogy  and  parallelism  to  the  isthmus 
which  unites  the  two  Americas,  that,  before  Steffens, 
Ebel  and  Lamark  had  already  pointed  it  out.  The 
great  archipelago  of  Borneo,  Celebes,  and  of  the  Moluc- 
cas, corresponds  to  that  of  the  Antilles;  the  peninsula 
of  India,  to  California. 

Here  the  disproportion  between  the  two  continents,  as 
to  their  extent,  is  pushed  to  the  extreme.  Asia-Aus- 
tralia presents  the  union  of  the  greatest  and  the  smallest 
of  the  terrestrial  masses. 

These  three  double  worlds  exhaust  the  possible  com- 
binations of  relations  between  their  component  conti- 
nents. In  America,  that  of  the  north  and  that  of  the 
south  are  equal  in  form  and  in  power ;  there  is  a  sym- 
metry. In  the  two  others  they  are  unequal.  In  Europe- 
Africa,  the  northern  continent  is  the  smallest.  In  Asia- 
Australia,  it  is  the  continent  of  the  south. 

These  views  of  Steffens,  even  without  being  justified 
by  a  physical  theory  of  the  phenomena,  are  not  the  less 
of  high  interest,  and  lead  us  to  consider  the  grouping  of 
the  continents  under  a  point  of  view  of  the  application 
of  which  we  shall  by-and-by  see  the  utility. 

But  none  of  the  authors  who  occupied  themselves 
with  these  questions  of  configuration  and  of  grouping  of 
the  terrestrial  spaces,  has  done  so  in  a  manner  more 
happy,  and  more  fruitful  in  important  results,  than  Carl 
Hitter. 

This  founder  of  historical  geography,  in  the  high  sense 
that  should  be  attached  to  the  word,  this  learned  scholar, 
who  has  exalted  geography  to  the  rank  of  a  philosophical 
science,  by  the  spirit  he  has  breathed  into  it,  applied  him- 


FIGURE  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


43 


self  chiefly  to  investigating  what  are  the  fundamental 
conditions  of  the  form  of  the  surface  of  the  globe  most 
favorable  to  the  progress  of  man  and  of  human  societies. 
This  novel  point  of  view  led  him  to  the  discovery  of 
relations  unperceived  unjt.il  then.  We  proceed  to  take 
cognizance  of  the  principal  of  them,  but  at  present  in  a 
manner  wholly  external.  The  signification  of  these 
groupings  and  of  these  forms  will  become  manifest  in 
the  course  of  our  studies. 

Bitter  showed  not  only  that  the  lands  are  more  numer- 
ous in  the  northern  portion  of  the  earth  than  in  the 
southern,  but  that,  if  we  draw  a  great  circle  at  once 
through  the  coast  of  Peru  and  the  south  of  Asia,  the 


Land  Hemisphere.  Water  Hemisphere. 


surface  of  the  globe  is  found  to  be  divided  into  two 
hemispheres,  the  one  containing  the  most  extensive 
terrestrial  masses,  those  nearest  together  and  most  im- 
portant ;  while  we  behold,  in  the  other,  only  vast  oceans, 
in  which  float  here  and  there  the  peninsular  extrem- 
ities of  the  principal  lands,  narrowed  and  dispersed, 
and  Australia,  the  smallest  and  most  isolated  of  the  con- 
tinents,    One  is  then  the  Continental  or  Land  hemi- 


44 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


sphere,  the  other  is  the  Oceanic  or  Water  hemisphere. 
(See  Fig.  1.) 

The  second  general  fact,  with  regard  to  the  grouping 
of  the  lands,  is  that  of  their  combination  in  two  great 
masses,  the  Old  World  and  the  New  World,  the  forms 
and  structure  of  which  make  a  striking  contrast,  and 
give  them  a  marked  character  of  originality. 

Thus  the  direction  of  their  greatest  extension  is  the 
inverse  in  the  two  worlds.  The  principal  mass  of  the 
Ancient  World,  Asia-Europe,  stretches  from  east  to 
west  over  one  half  of  the  circumference  of  the  globe; 
while  its  width  is  vastly  less,  and  occupies,  even  in  Asia, 
only  a  part  of  the  space  which  separates  the  equator 
from  the  pole.  In  Europe  it  is  not  equal  to  the  sixth 
part  of  the  earth's  circumference.  In  America,  on  the 
contrary,  the  greatest  length  extends  from  the  north  to 
the  south.  It  embraces  more  than  one  third  of  the 
circumference  of  the  globe,  and  its  width,  which  is  very 
variable,  never  exceeds  a  fifth  of  this  amount. 

The  most  remarkable  consequence  of  this  arrange- 
ment, is,  that  Asia-Europe  extends  through  similai 
climatic  zones,  while  America  traverses  nearly  all  the 
climatic  zones  of  the  earth,  and  presents  in  this  relation 
a  much  greater  variety  of  phenomena. 

The  most  important  of  these  geographical  relations  of 
configuration,  that  which  Hitter  was  the  first  to  bring 
prominently  forward,  and  the  whole  value  of  which  he 
has  explained  with  rare  felicity,  is  the  difference  exist- 
ing between  the  different  continents  with  regard  to  the 
extension  of  the  line  of  their  contours.  Some  are  deeply 
indented,  furnished  with  peninsulas,  gulfs,  inland  seas. 


FIGURE  OF   THE  CONTINENTS. 


45 


which  give  to  the  line  of  their  coasts  a  great  length. 
Others  present  a  mass  more  compact,  more  undivided ; 
their  trunk  is,  as  it  were,  deprived  of  members,  and  the 
line  of  the  coasts,  simple  and  without  numerous  inflec- 
tions, is  comparatively  much  shorter. 

Considered  under  this  aspect,  the  three  principal  con- 
tinents of  the  Old  World  form  a  remarkable  contrast. 

Africa  is  far  the  most  simple  in  its  forms.  Its  mass, 
nearly  round  or  ellipsoidal,  is  concentrated  upon  itself. 
It  thrusts  into  the  ocean  no  important  peninsula,  nor 
anywhere  lets  into  its  bosom  the  waters  of  the  sea. 
It  seems  to  close  itself  against  every  influence  from 
without.  Thus  the  extension  of  the  line  of  its  coasts 
is  only  14,000  geographical  miles,  of  60  to  the  degree, 
for  a  surface  of  8,720,000  square  miles ;  so  that  Africa 
has  only  one  mile  of  coast  for  623  miles  of  surface. 

Asia,  although  bathed  on  three  sides  only  by  the 
ocean,  is  rich,  especially  on  its  eastern  and  southern 
coasts,  in  large  peninsulas,  as  Arabia  and  the  two  Indies, 
Corea,  Kamtschatka.  Whole  countries  push  out  into 
the  ocean,  as  Mandchouria  and  China.  Nevertheless, 
the  extent  of  this  continent  is  such,  that,  in  spite  of  the 
depth  of  the  indentations,  there  yet  remains  at  its  centre 
a  greatly  preponderating  mass  of  undivided  land,  which 
commands  the  maritime  regions  as  the  body  commands 
the  limbs.  Asia  is  indebted  to  this  configuration  for  a 
line  of  coast  of  30,800  miles  ;  it  is  double  that  of  Africa, 
which  is,  nevertheless,  only  one  third  smaller.  Asia, 
therefore,  possesses  a  mile  of  coast  to  459  square  miles 
of  surface. 

Of  all  the  continents,  Europe  is  the  one  whose  forms 


46 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


of  contour  are  most  varied.  Its  principal  mass  is  deeply 
cut  in  all  parts  by  the  ocean  and  by  inland  seas,  and 
seems  almost  on  the  point  of  resolving  itself  into  penin- 
sulas. These  peninsulas  themselves,  as  Greece,  Scandi- 
navia, repeat  to  infinity  the  phenomena  of  articulation 
and  indentation  of  coasts,  which  are  characteristic  of  the 
entire  continent.  The  inland  seas  and  the  portions  of 
the  ocean  its  outer  limits  enclose,  form  nearly  half 
of  its  surface.  The  line  of  its  shores  is  thus  carried 
to  the  extent  of  17,200  miles,  an  enormous  proportion 
compared  with  its  small  size;  for  it  is  3,200  miles  more 
than  Africa,  which  is  nevertheless  three  times  greater. 
Europe  enjoys  one  mile  of  coast  for  every  156  square 
miles  of  surface.  Thus  it  is  the  continent  most  open  to 
the  sea,  for  foreign  connections,  at  the  same  time  that  it 
is  the  most  individualized,  and  the  richest  in  local  and 
independent  districts. 

In  this  regard  there  is,  as  we  see,  a  sensible  gradation 
between  the  three  principal  continents  of  the  Old  World. 
Africa  is  the  most  simple ;  it  is  a  body  without  mem- 
bers, a  tree  without  branches.  Asia  is  a  mighty  trunk, 
the  numerous  members  of  which,  however,  make  only  a 
fifth  of  its  mass.  In  Europe,  the  members  overrule  the 
principal  body,  the  branches  cover  the  trunk ;  the  pen- 
insulas form  almost  a  third  of  its  entire  surface.  Africa 
is  closed  to  the  ocean;  Asia  opens  only  its  margins; 
Europe  surrenders  to  it  entirely,  and  is  the  most  acces- 
sible of  all  the  continents. 

America  repeats  the  same  contrasts,  although  in  a  less 
decided  manner.  North  America,  like  Europe,  is  more 
indented  than  South  America,  the  configuration  of 


FIGURE  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


47 


which,  in  the  exterior  at  least,  reminds  us  of  the  forms 
of  Africa,  and  the  uniformity  of  its  contours.  The  two 
continents  of  the  New  World  are  more  alike.  Never- 
theless, the  line  of  the  shores  is  much  more  extended  in 
North  than  in  South  America.  It  is  24,000  miles  in  the 
former,  or  one  mile  of  coast  to  228  square  miles  of  sur- 
face ;  in  the  latter,  it  is  13,600  miles,  or  a  mile  of  coast 
for  376  miles  of  surface. 

The  following  table  represents  these  differences  of 
configuration  of  the  continents  by  numerical  propor- 
tions. The  mile  here  employed  is  the  geographical 
mile,  of  60  to  the  degree.  It  is  the  only  one  we  shall 
make  use  of  in  the  course  of  these  lectures. 


Countries. 

Surface  in  square 
miles  of  GO  to  a 
degree. 

Length  of  line 
of  shores. 

Square  miles 
for  1  mile  of 
coast. 

2,688,000 

17,200 

156 

14,128,000 

30,800 

459 

8,720,000 

14,000 

623 

Australia,  ...» 

2,208,000 

7,600 

290 

North.  America,  .  . 

5,472,000 

24,000 

228 

South  America,  .  . 

5,136,000 

13,600 

376 

It  is  to  Ritter,  moreover,  as  well  as  to  Humboldt,  that 
science  is  indebted  for  the  appreciation  of  the  value  of 
the  relations  of  size,  of  relative  position  of  each  of  the 
continents,  the  influence  of  which,  in  nature  and  in 
history,  will  appear  constantly  greater  the  further  we 
advance  in  our  inquiries. 

The  exposition  we  have  just  made  has  shown  us  at 
once  differences  and  analogies  in  the  forms  and  dis 


48 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


position  of  the  continental  or  land  masses.  The  differ- 
ences prove  that  each  continent,  or  each  group  of  con- 
tinents, has  a  character  peculiar  to  itself,  and  in  some 
sort  individual.  The  analogies  lead  us  to  suspect  the 
existence  of  a  general  law ;  they  disclose  an  arrange- 
ment which  cannot  be  without  a  purpose;  now,  this 
purpose  it  will  be  our  duty  to  seek  to  comprehend,  if 
we  would  attain  to  the  true  understanding  of  this  part 
of  Creation. 


LECTURE  II. 


Recapitulation —  Vertical  dimensions  or  forms  of  relief — Difficulties 
presented  by  their  study —  Usefulness  of  profiles —  Great  influence 
of  differences  of  height  —  Elevations  in  mass,  and  linear  elevations  — 
Importance  of  the  former — Labors  of  Humboldt  and  Bitter  on  this 
subject  —  Examination  of  the  general  features  of  relief  of  the  con- 
tinents —  A  great  common  law  embracing  them  all. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

The  conclusion  of  the  preceding  lecture  was  devoted 
to  a  simple  examination  of  the  most  prominent  forms 
which  the  continents  present  to  us,  and  such  as  the  line 
of  contact  of  the  lands  with  the  horizontal  surface  of  the 
oceans  exhibits  to  the  eye.  In  this  first  review,  we  have 
followed,  step  by  step,  in  their  discoveries,  the  men  of 
science  who  were  the  first  to  point  them  out.  We 
have  recognized,  with  Lord  Bacon  and  Forster,  the 
tapering  form  of  the  southern  points  of  the  continents, 
their  gulfs  on  the  west,  and  their  islands  on  the  east ; 
with  Pallas,  the  situation  of  the  great  plains  in  the  north 
of  the  Old  World,  and  the  east  of  the  New ;  with  Hum- 
boldt, the  winding  forms  and  parallel  shores  of  the 
great  oceanic  valley  bearing  the  name  of  the  Adantic ; 
with  Steffens,  the  enlargement  of  all  the  lands  towards 
the  north,  and  the  characteristic  grouping  of  the  con- 
tinents in  three  double  worlds.  Hitter,  finally,  has 
shown  us  how  almost  all  the  lands  are  combined  in  one 
hemisphere,  which  may  be  contrasted  as  a  continental 
5 


50 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY* 


hemisphere  with  the  other,  which  is  almost  entirely- 
covered  with  water ;  how  the  lands,  in  their  turn,  are 
grouped  in  two  principal  masses,  in  two  worlds,  the  Old 
and  the  New,  differing  in  extent,  in  forms  of  contour, 
in  structure,  and  in  direction.  This  learned  man,  above 
all,  teaches  us  to  consider  the  forms  of  the  continents  in 
a  light  entirely  new,  by  drawing  our  attention  to  one  of 
the  most  characteristic  features,  and,  as  we  shall  see, 
one  of  the  most  important,  which  had  escaped  all  the 
geographers  before  him;  and  that  is  the  considerable 
difference  the  various  continents  present  with  regard  to 
the  greater  or  smaller  number  of  indentations  of  their 
coasts,  and  of  the  lesser  or  greater  extent  of  the  line  of 
their  shores,  of  their  more  or  less  gradual  contact  with 
the  waters  of  the  seas  and  of  the  oceans. 

All  these  characteristic  differences,  their  gradation, 
and,  above  all,  the  numerous  analogies  the  forms  and 
the  grouping  of  the  great  terrestrial  masses  present,  have 
appeared  to  disclose  a  symmetrical  arrangement,  and, 
as  it  were,  an  organization  of  the  continental  masses, 
owing,  doubtless,  to  a  physical  law,  none  the  less  real 
on  account  of  its  being  as  yet  unknown  to  science. 

We  shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to  estimate  the  value 
and  the  influence  of  these  relations,  which  we  have 
merely  stated.  But  to  complete  our  preparatory  study, 
it  is  not  enough  to  have  taken  cognizance  of  these 
horizontal  forms.  We  must  further  make  ourselves 
acquainted  with  the  vertical  configuration  of  the  surface, 
also,  of  the  continents  bathed  by  the  atmosphere ;  that  is 
to  say,  it  is  necessary  to  grasp  the  most  essential  features 
of  their  relief,  so  intimately  combined  with  the  varieties 


RELIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


51 


of  their  horizontal  forms,  and  moulding  in  such  various 
manners  the  different  countries  of  the  globe.  It  is  only- 
after  having  considered  the  continents  under  this  second 
point  of  view,  that  we  shall  have  the  elements  neces- 
sary to  understand  the  great  phenomena  of  the  life  of 
the  globe. 

But  a  great  difficulty  of  this  study  is,  that  the  eye 
cannot  distinguish  the  elevations  on  the  maps,  as  well 
as  the  contours ;  besides,  physical  maps  are  still  want- 
ing for  a  great  part  of  the  earth,  and  have  only  been 
made  by  nations  the  most  advanced  in  civilization.  In 
this  regard,  America  deserves  to  have  one  of  her  own, 
and  every  friend  of  science  should  lend  the  aid  of  his 
good  wishes  to  the  accomplishment  of  so  desirable  a 
result. 

To  remedy  these  difficulties,  we  must  avail  ourselves 
of  profiles.  You  will  easily  understand  what  a  profile 
is,  by  casting  a  glance  at  the  plaster  model  before  you, 
representing  one  of  the  most  rugged  and  broken  parts 
of  the  Swiss  Jura.  If,  cutting  it  perpendicularly  in  its 
length,  you  place  yourselves  in  front  of  the  section,  the 
line  formed  by  the  edge  of  the  surface  will  present  you 
a  profile  of  the  kind  which  we  shall  make  use  of.  It 
would  be  of  the  highest  interest  to  preserve,  in  these 
sections,  the  true  proportion  between  the  heights  and  the 
horizontal  extent,  such  as  it  is  in  nature ;  but  it  is  not 
possible  to  do  so  without  making  use  of  drawings  on  a 
very  large  scale,  and  when  it  is  intended  to  represent 
only  a  very  small  portion  of  the  terrestrial  surface.  If, 
however,  we  were  to  make  transverse  sections  of  an 
entire  continent,  the  extent  of  the  horizontal  dimensions, 


52 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


compared  with  that  of  the  vertical  dimensions,  would  be 
so  great  that  the  latter  would  become  imperceptible  to  the 
eye.  We  are,  therefore,  obliged  to  enlarge  the  scale  of 
heights  a  certain  number  of  times,  in  order  to  render 
them  sufficiently  distinct;  and  this  has  been  done  in 
the  numerous  profiles  that  are  here  exhibited.  (See 
plates  ii.  and  m.)  You  will  understand  the  necessity 
of  this  disproportion,  if  you  consider  the  fact  that  the 
loftiest  mountain  of  the  globe  is  only  six  miles  high, 
while  the  diameter  of  the  earth  is  nearly  eight  thousand 
miles ;  so  that,  representing  it  in  its  true  proportions,  the 
Dhavalagiri,  with  its  28,000  feet,  would  be  raised  only  a 
twelfth  of  an  inch  on  a  globe  ten  feet  in  diameter. 

Nevertheless,  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  draw  from  this 
fact  the  conclusion  that  the  knowledge  and  study  of  these 
forms,  so  insignificant  in  appearance,  have  but  a  slight 
importance.  This  element,  on  the  contrary,  is  so  essen- 
tial, that  an  elevation  of  level  of  350  feet,  for  example, 
which  is  only  that  of  many  of  our  public  edifices,  is 
sufficient  to  diminish  the  mean  temperature  of  a  place 
by  one  degree  of  Fahrenheit ;  that  is  to  say,  the  effect 
is  the  same  as  if  the  place  were  situated  sixty  miles 
further  south.  A  few  thousand  feet  of  height,  which 
are  nothing  to  the  mass  of  the  globe,  change  entirely  the 
aspect  and  the  character  of  a  country.  The  excellent 
vineyards  bordering  the  banks  of  the  Swiss  lakes 
become  impossible  at  1,000  feet,  at  500  even,  above  their 
present  level;  and  the  tillage,  the  occupations  of  the 
inhabitants,  take  here  a  quite  different  character.  A 
thousand  feet  higher  still,  and  the  rigor  of  the  climate  no 
longer  permits  the  fruit  trees  to  flourish ;  the  pastures 


RELIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


53 


are  the  only  wealth  of  the  mountaineer,  for  whom  indus- 
try ceases  to  be  a  resource.  Higher  still,  vegetation 
disappears,  with  it  the  animals,  and  soon,  instead  of  the 
smiling  pictures  of  the  plain  and  the  lower  valleys,  suc- 
ceeds the  spectacle  of  the  majestic  but  desolated  regions 
of  eternal  ice  and  snow,  where  the  sound  and  animation 
of  life  give  place  to  the  silence  of  death. 

In  truth,  all  the  life  of  the  globe  is  spread  on  the  sur- 
face, and  the  whole  space  comprised  between  the  bed  of 
the  oceans  and  the  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  habitable 
for  organized  beings,  forms  only  a  thin  pellicle  round  the 
enormous  mass  of  our  planet. 

The  physical  position  of  a  place,  as  I  would  call  its 
altitude,  or  its  elevation  in  the  atmosphere  above  the 
level  of  the  seas,  is,  then,  the  necessary  complement  of» 
its  geographical  position.  In  considering  only  places 
situated  in  a  region  of  small  extent,  this  element  is  even 
far  the  most  important  to  know. 

Although  the  forms  of  relief  are  infinitely  varied,  it 
seems  to  me  that  we  may  refer  them  to  two  great  classes, 
admitting  of  numerous  modifications. 

1.  The  elevations  in  mass,  and  by  great  surfaces, 
which  are  called  plains,  or  lowlands,  when  they  are  ele- 
vated only  a  little  above  the  level  of  the  oceans,  and 
plateaus,  or  table  lands,  when  their  elevation  is  more 
considerable,  and  presents  a  solid  platform,  a  basis  of 
great  thickness. 

2.  The  linear  elevations  and  the  chains  of  mountains, 
which  are  distributed  over  the  surface  and  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  plains  and  of  the  table  lands,  or  more  rarely 
scattered  in  isolated  groups. 

5* 


54 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Of  these  three  forms,  those  which  strike  us  most  at 
the  first  glance,  are  the  mountains ;  and  so  the  geogra- 
phers have  occupied  themselves  with  these  in  the  first 
place.  Buache,  of  the  French  Academy,  in  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  was  the  first  who  attempted  to  com- 
prise in  a  systematic  order  the  whole  of  the  mountains  of 
the  earth ;  but  he  was  too  often  obliged  to  supply  by  imag- 
ination the  want  of  positive  knowledge ;  and  I  mention 
here  his  essay  on  the  connection  of  the  mountains  of  the 
globe,  only  to  point  out  the  first  step  that  was  taken  in 
this  path.  After  him,  Buffon  made  the  important  observa- 
tion, that  the  principal  mountain  chains  of  the  Old  World 
follow  the  direction  of  the  parallels,  and  those  of  the 
New  World,  the  direction  of  the  meridians ;  and  that 
the  secondary  chains  follow  the  inverse  in  both. 

This  predilection  for  the  mountains  lasted  a  long  time ; 
we  may  say  that  it  still  prevails  in  geology.  Although 
the  upheaval  of  the  great  surfaces,  horizontal  or  slightly 
inclined,  the  elevation  of  entire  continents,  may  be  per- 
haps a  more  essential  fact  in  the  physical  history  of  our 
globe,  than  that  of  a  chain  of  mountains ;  nevertheless, 
geology  has  scarcely  occupied  itself  except  with  the 
latter,  and  seems  almost  ready  to  admit  that  the  upheaval 
of  mountain  chains  is  the  principal  fact,  and  that  of  the 
large  surfaces  and  of  the  plateaus  the  accompaniment. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  this  great  question,  but 
we  are  bound  to  say,  that,  at  all  events,  in  physical 
geography  we  cannot  be  of  this  opinion. 

Although  the  word  plateau  was  introduced  into  science 
by  Buache,  the  importance  of  these  elevations  in  mass 
in  physical  geography  was  not  recognized  in  reality 
before  the  time  of  Alexander  Humboldt     He  was  the 


RELIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


55 


first  to  bring  prominently  out,  by  his  barometrical  sec- 
tions, the  remarkable  forms  of  the  plateau  of  Mexico, 
and  of  the  high  valleys  of  the  Andes.  No  one  of  the 
great  physical  consequences  connected  with  this  struc- 
ture escaped  his  penetrating  sagacity.  After  him  it 
was  not  allowed  to  neglect  the  important  element  of 
the  altitudes,  and  this  great  truth  remained  an  acqui- 
sition to  science. 

Carl  Ritter  soon  after  applied  these  principles  to  the 
study  of  all  the  continents.  Drawing  from  the  treasures 
of  his  vast  erudition,  he  availed  himself  of  all  the  docu- 
ments scattered  over  thousands  of  volumes,  to  give  us  a 
true  image  of  the  structure  of  the  continents.  He  distin- 
guished with  greater  precision  the  high  plateaus  of  Cen- 
tral Asia  and  of  Western  Asia  from  the  low  lands  which 
surround  them;  he  exhibited  the  contrast  between  the 
high  lands  of  Southern  Africa,  and  the  low  plains  of  the 
Nile  and  of  Sahara.  Each  of  the  countries  of  the  Old 
World  under  this  new  light  appeared  to  our  eyes  for  the 
first  time  in  its  true  form,  as  those  of  the  New  World 
had  been  revealed  by  Humboldt. 

For  a  long  time  still  we  shall  have  to  persevere  in  this 
path  which  genius  has  opened,  in  order  to  complete  by 
observation  the  work  so  happily  begun.  But  have  we 
not  another  step  to  take?  Shall  we  not  find  here,  in 
the  midst  of  this  infinite  variety  of  forms  of  relief,  some 
of  those  grand  analogies  which  have  struck  us  in  the 
study  of  the  horizontal  forms,  some  of  those  general 
facts  which  authorize  us  to  admit  for  the  elevations, 
also,  some  great  common  law  around  which  the  partic- 
ular facts  arrange  themselves  1 

We  shall  endeavor  to  solve  this  important  question, 


56 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


not,  gentlemen,  by  any  hypothesis,  but  by  the  combina- 
tion and  exposition  of  the  facts  recognized  in  science. 
For  this  purpose  I  may  often  be  obliged  to  quote  figures ; 
but  even  figures  have  their  eloquence.  These-,  for  greater 
convenience,  I  shall  express  in  round  numbers,  as  it  will 
sufficiently  answer  the  end  I  propose. 

The  examination  of  the  general  reliefs  of  the  great 
masses  of  dry  land  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  leads  us, 
in  fact,  to  the  recognition  of  certain  great  analogies, 
certain  great  laws  of  relief,  which  apply,  whether  to  cer- 
tain groups  of  continents,  or  to  all  the  continents  taken 
together,  or  to  the  whole  earth.  I  shall  point  out,  one 
after  another,  these  general  facts,  supporting  them  by 
examples;  and,  with  the  aid  of  the  profiles  you  have 
before  you,  I  hope  to  make  clear  to  you  the  general  law 
which  appears  to  me  to  follow  from  them. 

1.  All  the  continents  rise  gradually  from  the  shores  of 
the  se_as  towards  the  interior,  to  a  line  of  highest  eleva- 
tion of  the  masses,  and  of  the  peaks  surmounting  them, 
to  a  maximum  of  swell. 

This  fact  appears  trivial  in  the  stating,  because  it 
seems  so  much  according  to  the  nature  of  things.  But 
it  is  not  so  for  him  who  knows  the  geological  history  of 
our  continents  and  the  revolutions  their  surface  has 
undergone.  The  question  is  asked,  why  we  should 
not  have,  in  the  interior  of  vast  continents  like  Asia  or 
America,  some  great  depression,  the  bed  of  which  should 
be  sunk  below  the  surface  of  the  oceans.  And  in  fact 
this  circumstance  is  not  absolutely  wanting  to  our  con- 
tinents ;  we  may  cite,  as  a  case  of  the  kind,  the  great 
hollow,  the  bottom  of  which  is  occupied  by  the  Caspian 
Sea.  It  is  known  that  the  surface  of  this  sea,  and  even  of 


RELIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


57 


a  great  part  of  the  surrounding  countries,  is  below  the 
common  level  of  the  oceans ;  further,  its  basis  presents 
in  its  southern  parts  considerable  depths.  The  valley 
of  the  Jordan  and  Dead  Sea,  together  with  its  lakes  and 
the  river,  is  almost  entirely  below  the  level  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. The  recent  measurements  of  Bertou,  of 
Russegger,  and  of  several  others,  among  whom  I  will 
mention,  as  the  most  recent  of  these  bold  explorers,  an 
American,  Lieut.  Lynch,  have  proved  that  the  level  of 
the  Dead  Sea  is  about  1,300  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
oceans,  and  that  its  depth  descends  at  least  as  much 
more.  What  masks  these  depressions,  moreover,  is  the 
water  filling  them,  the  surface  of  which  must  be 
considered  as  forming  a  part  of  that  of  the  continents. 
Besides  the  three  largest  of  the  lakes  of  Canada,  several 
of  the  lakes  of  the  Italian  Alps,  the  bed  of  which  sinks 
below  the  level  of  the  sea,  would  appear  as  similar 
excavations.  We  may  say  the  same  of  the  midland 
seas  bordering  the  European  continent  on  the  north  and 
on  the  south. 

2.  In  all  the  continents,  the  line  of  greatest  elevation 
in  the  summit  of  ascent  is  placed  out  of  the  centre,  on 
one  of  the  sides,  at  an  unequal  distance  from  the  shores 
of  the  seas.  From  this  fact  result  two  slopes,  unequal  in 
length  and  in  inclination.  This  is  analogous  to  what, 
in  mountains,  is  called  the  slope  and  the  counter  slope. 

The  length  of  these  two  inclined  planes,  estimated 
approximately  and  in  round  numbers,  is  nearly  as  fol- 
lows, in  the  different  transverse  sections  of  the  continents 
represented  by  the  profiles  which  we  have  before,  us. 
(See  plates  n.  and  in.) 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGPvAPHY. 


The  first  column  indicates  the  length,  in  geographical 
miles,  of  the  long  slope ;  the  second,  that  of  the  short  one. 


OLD  WORLD.  —  North  to  South. 


Length  in  Miles. 

Northern 
Slope. 

Southern 
Slope. 

1. —  Eastern  Asia. 
The  section  begins  at  the  Frozen  Ocean,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Jenisei,  and  terminates  in 
the  plains  of  the  Ganges.    The  culminating 
region  is  that  of  the  table  lands  of  Tubet 
and  of  the  Dhavalagiri,  which  divides  this 

2,600 

400 

2.  —  Western  Asia. 
From  Lake  Aral  and  the  plains  of  the  Caspian 
Sea  to  the  Persian  Gulf ;  culminating  point, 
the  coast  chain  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  .  .  . 

900 

100 

3.  —  Western  Asia. 
From  the  plains  of  Georgia  to  those  of  the 
Euphrates  j   culminating  point,  the  high 

260 

80 

4.  —  Asia  Minor. 
From  the  northern  to  the  southern  coast,  nearly 
on  the  meridian  of  Cyprus  ;  culminating 

OUU 

5.  —  Central  Europe. 
From  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  to  the  plains  of 
Lombardy  ;  culminating  point,  the  Tyrolian 

450 

100 

6.  —  Africa. 
|  From  the  mouth  of  the  Nile  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  ;  culminating  point,  probably 
the  high  plateaus  between  the  sources  of 
the  Zambeze  and  of  the  Orange  river,  .  . 

3,300 

600 

RELIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTS.  63 


NEW  WORLD. 


Length  in  Miles. 

Slope. 

1.  —  North  America.  ^ 

From  Washington  to  the  Bay  of  St.  Francisco ; 

culminating  point,  the  central  chain  of  the 

1,600 

800 

2.  —  Central  America.  . 

From  Porto  Rico,  through  Mexico,  to  the  Pa- 

cific Ocean  —  the  line  slightly  broken  to 

take  in  the  Great  Antilles  ;  culminating 

■ 

2,000 

300 

3.  —  South  America. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon,  through  the 

table  land  of  Peru,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean ) 

culminating  point,  the  Chimborago,  .  .  . 

1,850 

70 

4.  —  South  America. 

From  the  coasts  of  Brazil,  north  to  Rio  Janei- 

ro, through  the  Lake  of  Titicaca,  to  the  Pa- 

cific ;  culminating  point,  the  Nevado  de 

1,600 

200 

We  see,  by  this  table,  that  one  of  the  general  slopes 
of  the  continents  is  always,  if  Ave  take  the  mean,  at 
least  four  or  five  times  as  large  as  the  other. 

3.  This  law  of  increase  of  reliefs  is  common  to  the 
mass  elevations,  and  to  the  linear  elevations;  that  is, 
the  height  of  the  low  lands  and  of  the  table  lands 
increases  at  the  same  time  with  the  absolute  elevation 
of  the  mountains.    There  is  a  proportional  gradation. 

This  law  is  exhibited  by  the  following  table,  con- 
taining the  principal  elements  I  have  used  in  construct- 
ing the  profiles.    As  they  are  intended  to  set  in  a  clear 


64 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


light  the  most  general  features  of  the  relief  of  the  con- 
tinents, these  profiles  do  not  always  follow  an  exactly- 
straight  line,  but  they  sometimes  embrace  rather  a 
transverse  zone.  For  the  same  reason  I  merely  indi- 
cate, without  taking  them  into  the  view,  several  lofty 
volcanic  peaks,  isolated  like  the  Ararat,  the  Erdshish  of 
Asia  Minor,  which,  considered  in  relation  to  the  general 
relief  of  the  countries  where  they  are  found,  are  but 
accidents,  and  cause  only  a  local  modification.  They 
are  marked  in  the  tables  by  an  asterisk. 

The  first  column  contains  the  height  of  the  plateaus, 
the  second  that  of  the  loftiest  corresponding  peaks,  J>oth 
in  English  feet.  In  plates  n.  and  m.  they  are  both  indi- 
cated by  their  initials. 


OLD  WORLD.  —  North  to  South. 


Low  l'ds  and 

Highest  • 

1.  —  Eastern  Asia. 

Table  lands. 

Mountains. 

Coast  of  the  Frozen  Ocean,  mouth  of  the  Je- 

0 

0 

Plains  of  Siberia,  Barnaul,  foot  of  the  Altai 

380 

11,000 

1,300 

18,000 

2,000? 

5,000? 

21,000? 

11,000 

14,000 

28,070 

250 

2. —  Western  Asia. 

Lake  Aral,  plains  of  the  Caspian  Sea,   .  .  . 

0 

0 

500? 

RELIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


2.  Western  .Asia. 

Low  l'ds  and 
Table  lands. 

Highest 
Mountains. 

4 

,500 

2,000 

4,400 

4,500 

9 

,000 

0 

0 

3.  TVestern  Asia. 

Tiflis  plains  of  Georgia 

1,160 

Pambak,  chain,  

7 

000 

Ararat  the  plain  around   .  .  .  .  . 

2,800 

17 

000 

10 

000 

5,400 

12 

000 

350 

200? 

4.  Asia  JMjnor. 

Krimea  Tchatur  Dagh  .  .  .  .  . 

5 

000 

Black  Sea   

0 

Chains  along  the  coast  of  Asia  IMinor,  ... 

5, 

000 

1,200 

3,000 

13, 

000 

10 

000 

0 

0 

10 

000 

5.  Central  Europe. 

The  coast  of  the  Baltic  Sea  . 

o 

0 

Plains  of  North  Germany  Berlin  ... 

100 

Thp  TTnT"7  "Rrni^lrpn 

3, 

700 

200 

500 

800 

Table  land  of  Bavaria,  foot  of  the  Alps,  .  .  . 

2,100 

12, 

800 

200 

6* 


66  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Low  l'ds  and 

Highest 

(3.  Africa. 

Table  lands. 

Mountains. 

Mediterranean  Sea,  mouth  of  the  Nile,  .  .  . 

n 
u 

o 

5,000 

1  JL,UUU  i 

9,000 

2,700 

5,000 

0 

0 

The  same  law  exists  in  the  great  peninsulas  of  Asia, 
whose  basis  is  a  table  land,  and  which  are  almost  small 
continents,  as  India  and  Arabia.  In  those  of  Europe, 
which  are  smaller  and  more  irregular,  the  law  is  not 
expressed;  yet  the  Taygetus  in  Greece,  the  Sierra 
Nevada  in  Spain, — I  should  add  Etna  in  Sicily,  were  it 
not  an  isolated  volcano,  — belong  to  the  highest  summits 
of  the  three  peninsulas. 


Low  l'ds  and 

Highest 

7.  —  India-Deccan. 

Table  lands. 

Mountains. 

800 

5,000 

1,800 

2,700 

8,800 

7,500 

300 

500 

8.  AEA13IA. 

0 

0 

Inner  Arabia,  Nedjed,  table  land,  

2,000? 

5,000 

6,600 

0 

0 

RELIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 

NEW  WORLD.  —  East  to  West. 


67 


Low  l'ds  and 

Highest 

1       INTht? ttt  Atytftjtpa 

Table  lands. 

Mountains. 

Wnsnino'tnTi 

o 

o 

TVip  d-vpnt  Vallpir  nf*  Vircrinin 

300 

A  Tin  1  n  pVii  n  n  IX'TniTntnino; 

6,000 

TVTi^^i ^sititii  "Vnllpv   Sst  TiP-ni*? 

500 

TVTnntli  nf  flip  T<Tn"n<snQ 

800 

Pont  nf*  trip  "Rnplrv  TVTnnTitnin<3    "P1  Wnin 

5,000 

12,000 

6,000 

13,500 

4,300 

Sierra  Nevada  of  California,  Shastl  Peak,  .  . 

14,000 

17,800 

40 

0 

0 

2.  —  Central  America. 

Porto  Rico 

3,500? 

Haiti 

5,000? 

7,000 

7,500 

7,500 

13,000 

19,000 

3,000 

9,000 

0 

0 

3,  South  America. 

0 

0 

4,000 

8,400 

1,000? 

19,500 

9,000 

21,300 

0 

0 

08 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


4. —  South  America. 


Low  l'ds  and 
Table  lands. 


Hig-hest 
Mountains. 


Coast  of  Brazil,  

Table  land  of  Brazil,  .  .  .  . 
Itambe,  Sierra  de  Espinha^o, 
Sta  Cruz  de  Rio  Grande,    .  . 

Nevado  de  Sorata,  

Lake  of  Titicaca,  

Volcano  of  Arequipa,  .  .  .  . 
Coast  of  the  Pacific.    .  .  .  . 


12,800 


0 

2,000 


1,000? 


0 


25,300 


18,300 
0 


6,000 


0 


The  simultaneous  increase  of  the  plateaus  and  of  the 
higher  peaks  cannot,  then,  be  doubted,  and  the  preced- 
ing figures  make  all  comments  unnecessary.  The 
inspection  of  the  profiles  permits  us  also  to  deduce  the 
following  general  facts  : 

4.  In  the  Old  World,  the  long  slopes  are  turned 
towards  the  north,  and  the  short  slopes  towards  the 
south.  In  the  New  World,  the  gentle  slopes  descend 
towards  the  east,  and  the  short  and  rapid  slopes  towards 
the  west.  Thus,  in  this  respect,  each  of  the  two  worlds 
has  a  law  peculiar  to  itself. 

5.  In  each  of  the  two  worlds,  the  two  laws  exert  their 
influence.  In  the  Old  World,  though  the  principal  slope 
is  towards  the  north,  we  observe  still  a  gradual  decrease* 
of  the  reliefs  from  east  to  west ;  in  the  same  manner,  in 
the  New  World,  the  principal  slope  is  from  the  west  to 
the  east,  but  it  may  be  seen  that  the  reliefs  go  on  gradu- 
ally increasing  from  north  to  south,  as  in  the  Old  World. 
In  these  two  secondary  directions  of  the  reliefs,  we 
discover  the  law  of  the  unequal  slopes ;  in  the  Old  World, 


RELIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


the  long  slope  descends  to  the  west,  the  short  slope  to 
the  east ;  in  the  New  World,  the  long  slope  is  to  the 
north,  the  short  to  the  south. 


1.  —  Asia  -  Europe  —  from  East  to  West. 

Low  l'ds  and 
Table  lands. 

Highest 
Mountains. 

28; 

000 

Table  lands  of  Tubet;  

14; 

000 

TT '  J  T7"  1 

20, 

000 

Plateau  of  Caboul  and.  Kelat 

000 

Plateau  of  Persia,   .  . 

4, 

000 

Caucasus  Elbrus 

800 

Asia  Minor  plateau 

3, 

000 

Taurus 

1  n 

nnn 

Alps  Mt  Blanc 

15 

800 

11 

200 

2 

,300 

1 

,700 

2.  —  Africa — from  East  to  West. 

Abyssinia,  Samen  Mountains,  

15 

000 

Plateau  of  G-ondar,  ............ 

7 

,000 

Plateau  of  Mandara,  ••«. 

4 

,000? 

Camerun  Mountains,  

12 

000 

3 

000 

Table  land  of  the  Mandingoes    .  . 

o 
«c 

nnn  ? 

,UUU  f 

3.  —  America — from  North  to  South. 

13 

500 

6 

,000 

17; 

000 

7 

500 

8 

500 

500 

21 

400 

12 

800 

25; 

300 

70 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


6.  Generally  speaking,  the  reliefs  go  on  increasing 
from  the  poles  to  the  tropical  regions.  The  highest 
elevations,  however,  are  not  placed  at  the  equator,  but 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Tropic  of  Cancer,  in  the  Old 
World,  (Himalaya,  27°  north  lat.,)  and  near  the  Tropic 
of  Capricorn,  in  the  New  World,  (Nevado  de  Sorata, 
18°  south  lat.) 

I  notice  here  one  of  the  great  compensations,  one  of 
the  great  harmonies,  of  nature.  The  effect  of  this  law 
of  arrangement  is,  to  temper  the  burning  heats  of  these 
regions,  and  to  give  them  such  a  variety  of  climate  as 
seems  not  to  belong  to  these  countries  of  the  globe.  If 
this  order  were  reversed,  and  the  elevation  of  the  lands 
went  on  increasing  towards  the  north,  the  most  civilized 
half  of  the  globe,  at  the  present  day,  would  be  a  frozen 
and  uninhabited  desert. 

7.  In  fine,  a  common  law  combines  in  a  single  great 
fact  all  we  have  just  said  upon  the  general  reliefs  of  the 
continent ;  it  may  be  thus  expressed  :  — 

All  the  long  and  gentle  -slopes  descend  towards  the 
Atlantic  and  towards  the  Frozen  Ocean,  which  is  only  a 
dependence  of  it;  all  the  short  and  rapid  slopes,  or 
counter-slopes,  are  directed  towards  the  Pacific  Ocean 
and  towards  the  Indian  Ocean,  which  is  its  continuation. 

In  this  point  of  view,  these  two  great  oceans  appear 
as  two  basins  of  different  geological  character. 

The  Pacific  Ocean  seems  an  immense  basin  which 
has  sunk  down,  and  whose  high  and  ragged  edges  pre- 
sent on  all  sides  the  abrupt  terminations  of  the  conti- 
nents. It  is  on  this  great  line  of  fractures,  on  the  borders 
and  all  round  this  ocean,  as  has  been  pointed  out  by  Mr. 
von  Buch  and  other  scientific  men,  that  we  behold  the 


RELIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTS. 


71 


great  majority  of  the  active  volcanoes  of  our  globe, 
arranged  like  an  immense  burning  crown.  If  we  add  to 
this  feature  the  multitude  of  volcanic  islands  scattered 
over  the  ocean,  we  comprehend  the  idea,  expressed  by 
Steffens,  that  the  vast  basin  occupies  the  place  of  a  con- 
tinent of  the  early  ages,  uniting  the  two  worlds,  but  sunk 
and  submerged  at  present  under  the  deep  waters  of  the 
ocean,  in  consequence  of  one  of  the  latest  great  revolu- 
tions of  our  globe. 

The  Atlantic  Ocean,  on  the  contrary,  would  be  a 
simple  depression,  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a  trough, 
owing,  perhaps,  to  a  lateral  pressure,  and  partly  to  the 
tilting  motion  which  lifted  up  the  lands  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Pacific.  Hence,  its  narrower  breadth,  the 
valley  form,  the  absence  of  numerous  islands  in  the 
interior  of  its  basin,  and  the  descent  of  all  the  neighbor- 
ing continents  by  gentle  slopes.  Nevertheless,  if  we 
suppose  the  lateral  force  that  pressed  it  in  to  have  been 
very  strong,  we  may  conceive  that  this  valley  has  a 
great  depth. 

Thus,  then,  gentlemen,  a  great  law,  a  general  law, 
unites  all  the  various  systems  of  mountains  and  of 
plateaus  that  cover  the  surface  of  our  globe,  and 
arranges  them  in  a  vast  and  regular  system  of  slopes  . 
and  counter-slopes.  Considered  with  reference  to  the 
present  state  of  geology,  this  result  is  astonishing.  The 
study  of  the  relative  ages  of  the  different  systems  of 
elevations,  teaches  us  that  each  of  them  has  existed  a 
long  time  separately.  One  appeared  in  one  country  at  a 
given  epoch,  another  in  another.  The  continents  are 
only  formed,  so  to  speak,  by  piecemeal,  in  the  train  of 
the  geological  epochs;  and,  nevertheless,  the  definitive 


72 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


result  makes  a  whole,  composed  of  parts  subordinated  to 
each  other  in  a  certain  system,  which  might  be  called 
an  organism  in  this  order  of  things. 

This  is  not  the  moment  to  press  the  consequences  of 
so  remarkable  a  fact.  It  is  enough  for  me  to  have 
pointed  it  out  to  your  attention. 

I  will  add  only,  that  the  geological  researches  place 
beyond  a  doubt  the  existence  of  an  Ultimate  relation 
between  the  height  of  the  mountains  and  of  the  plateaus, 
and  the  epoch  of  their  appearance  above  the  surface  of 
the  oceans.  The  most  ancient  chains  of  mountains  are 
the  least  elevated ;  while  the  colossal  grandeurs  of  the 
Andes  and  the  Himalaya  bear  the  traces  of  an  upheaval 
comparatively  very  recent.  In  America,  from  the  coasts 
of  Brazil  to  the  high  table  lands  of  Bolivia,  and  from  the 
Atlantic  shores  to  the  Rocky  Mountains;  in  Europe, 
from  the  mountains  of  Scandinavia  to  the  summit  of  the 
Alps,  we  meet  with  upheavings  successively  less  ancient. 
In  the  two  worlds  the  continental  masses  have  then 
become  greater  in  the  lapse  of  the  ages,  not  by  chance, 
but  in  two  determinate  directions;  that  is,  in  a  geo- 
graphical order,  from  the  north  to  the  south  of  the  Old 
World,  and  from  the  east  to  the  west  in  the  New ;  and 
I  think  we  may  hence  infer,  that  from  the  moment  when 
the  oldest  lands  we  know  emerged,  the  continents  have 
had  a  tendency  to  form  themselves  on  the  spot  where 
they  now  are. 

We  see  that  here,  as  elsewhere,  all  is  done  with  order 
and  measure,  and  according  to  a  plan  which  we  shall 
have  a  right  to  believe  was  foreseen  and  intended,  when 
we  shall  have  studied  all  the  consequences  of  this 
arrangement  of  the  continental  masses. 


LECTURE  III. 


Distribution  of  the  table  lands,  the  mountains,  and  the  plains  in  the 
different  continents;  the  Old  World  that  of  plateaus,  the  New 
World  that  of  jfyins  —  The  basin  of  the  oceans  ;  this  inquiry  com- 
pletes the  study  of  the  plastic  forms  of  the  earth's  crust  —  Division 
and  characteristics  of  the  oceans ;  their  contours  and  their  depth  — 
Comparison  of  the  latter  with  the  mean  elevation  of  the  continents  — 
Conclusions  —  Necessity  of  considering  the  physiology  of  the  conti- 
nental forms  —  Point  of  view  which  should  be  taken  —  Law  of  the 
development  of  life. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

In  our  last  lecture  we  carried  our  examination  into 
the  general  forms  of  relief  of  the  continents.  Our  inves- 
tigation has  permitted  us  to  establish  the  existence  of 
a  great  common  law  of  slopes  and  counter-slopes,  of 
increase  and  decrease  of  reliefs.  The  entire  continents, 
as  well  as  the  mountains,  have  two  principal  unequal 
slopes ;  the  long  and  gentle  slopes  descend  towards  the 
Atlantic  and  Frozen  Ocean,  the  short  and  steep  slopes 
towards  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

To  finish  this  subject,  it  remains  to  say  a  word  upon 
the  distribution  of  the  table  lands,  of  the  mountains,  and 
of  the  plains  in  the  different  continents. 

The  distribution  of  these  three  great  forms  of  relief — 
is  it  uniform  or  not  ?  Or  are  there  not  some  character- 
istic differences,  to  be  pointed  out  in  this  regaid,  between 
the  continents  ?  Does  not  the  form  of  the  elevated  table 
lands  prevail  in  one  part  of  the  world,  the  form  of  the 
7 


74  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

plains  in  another,  the  form  of  the  mountains,  finally,  in 
yet  a  third  ?  If  we  call  to  mind  the  important  influence 
each  of  these  forms  exerts  on  the  climate,  the  produc- 
tions, and  on  the  conditions  of  existence,  and  growth 
of  the  nations,  we  shall  regard  this  question  as  one  of 
those  which  most  concern  our  subject. 

Considered  in  this  point  of  view,  the  continents  pre- 
sent, in  reality,  remarkable  differences.  • 

The  Old  World,  as  we  have  learned  from  the  study 
of  its  reliefs,  is  that  of  table  lands  and  mountains.  No 
continent  exhibits  plateaus  so  elevated,  so  numerous,  so 
extensive,  as  Asia  and  Africa.  Instead  of  one  or  two 
chains  of  mountains,  like  the  Andes,  Central  Asia  is 
traversed  by  four  immense  chains,  supporting  vast  table 
lands  of  from  5,000  to  14,000  feet  in  elevation,  and  the 
loftiest  mountains  of  the  globe. 

The  extent  of  this  elevated  region  is  more  than  2,400 
miles  long,  by  1,500  miles  broad.  The  principal  mass 
of  Western  Asia  is  nothing  but  a  plateau,  from  three  to 
six  thousand  feet  in  height.  Africa,  south  of  Sahara, 
seems  to  be  only  an  enormous  pile  of  uplifted  lands.  It 
has  been  calculated  that  the  mountains  and  plateaus  of 
Asia  cover  five  sevenths  of  its  surface,  while  the  plains 
occupy  only  two  sevenths.  In  Africa,  the  high  regions 
form  two  thirds  of  the  continent,  the  plains  only  one  third. 

If  I  call  the  Old  World  the  world  of  plateaus,  it  is 
not  because  great  plains  are  wanting  there.  The  whole 
north  of  Europe  and  of  Asia  is  merely  a  boundless  plain, 
and  from  the  shores  of  Holland,  through  Germany, 
Russia,  the  Steppes  of  the  Caspian  and  Siberia,  the 
raveller  may  cross  the  Ancient  World  from  the  Atlan- 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  PLASTIC  FORMS. 


75 


tic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  for  a  distance  of  more  than  six 
thousand  miles,  without  encountering  an  eminence  of 
more  than  a  few  hundred  feet  in  height.  In  Africa, 
also,  the  plains  of  Sahara  extend  2,500  miles  in  length, 
by  1,000  in  breadth.  But  the  situation  of  these  plains 
of  the  Old  World  under  the  frozen  sky  of  the  north,  and 
under  the  fires  of  the  tropics,  together  with  the  nature 
of  their  soil,  takes  from  them  all  their  importance.  The 
one  is  a  frozen  waste,  a  Siberia;  the  other  a  burning 
desert;  and  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  is  called  to 
play  an  essential  part,  nor  do  they  impress  upon  their 
respective  continents  their  essential  character. 

The  New  World,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  world  of 
plains.  They  form  two  thirds  of  its  surface ;  the  pla- 
teaus and  the  mountains,  only  one  third.  The  high 
lands  form  only  a  narrow  band,  crowded  upon  the  west- 
ern coast  of  the  two  continents.  Almost  the  whole  East 
runs  into  immense  plains,  covering  it,  one  might  say, 
from  pole  to  pole.  From  the  Frozen  Ocean  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  over  an  extent  of  nearly  2,400  miles,  we 
cross  only  insignificant  heights.  From  the  llanos  of  the 
Orinoco  to  the  banks  of  La  Plata,  we  traverse  more  than 
three  thousand  miles  of  low  plains,  slightly  interrupted 
by  the  somewhat  more  elevated  regions  of  western  Bra- 
zil; they  are  prolonged  even  to  the  Pampas  of  Pata- 
gonia, 600  miles  further  south,  to  the  southern  extrem- 
ity of  America.  The  length  of  the  rich  plains  watered 
by  the  Marafion,  in  the  direction  of  the  current,  is  nearly 
1,600  miles  ;  and  what  are  the  plains  of  the  Amazon  and 
the  Mississippi,  compared  with  those  of  Siberia  and 
Sahara  ?    A  happy  climate,  a  rich  and  fertile  soil,  a 


76 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


wonderful  vegetation,  prodigious  resources  —  they  have 
all  that  makes  the  prosperity  of  a  country ;  who  does 
not  see  that  here  is  the  character  of  America,  here  lies 
the  future  of  the  New  World,  while  the  countries  of 
mountains  and  plateaus  seem  destined  to  play  only  a 
secondary  part  ? 

Even  in  this  regard  the  two  worlds  have  each  its  own 
character,  and  form  a  great  contrast ;  m  that  we  may 
say  that,  in  one  of  the  hemispheres,  the  plateaus  and 
the  mountains  predominate,  while,  in  the  other,  the 
plains  give  the  important  and  essential  feature  of  relief. 

Finally,  if  we  were  seeking  for  a  continent  where  the 
form  of  mountains,  without  plateaus  at  their  base,  should 
be  the  characteristic  feature,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
name  Europe,  comprehending  in  it  only  Western  Europe 
without  Russia;  that  is,  historical  Europe,  the  true 
Europe  after  all.  This  continent,  with  Russia,  has 
three  fourths  of  plains  to  one  fourth  of  mountainous 
country ;  but,  leaving  out  Russia,  it  is  quite  otherwise. 
Traverse  Europe  from  one  end  to  the  other,  whether  over 
its  central  mass  or  its  peninsulas,  you  will  find  every- 
where its  soil  modified,  cut  in  all  directions  by  chains 
of  mountains  intersecting  each  other.  In  all  this  part 
of  the  continent,  the  largest  existing  plain,  that  of 
Northern  Germany  and  Poland,  is  only  six  hundred 
miles  long  by  two  hundred  broad.  It  is  the  extremity 
of  the  great  Asiatic  plains  in  the  north.  The  other 
plains,  as  those  of  France,  of  Hungary,  of  Lombardy, 
are  smaller  in  extent,  and  do  not  deprive  this  part  of  the 
continent  of  the  mountainous  character  essentially  be- 
longing to  it. 


THE  OCEANS. 


77 


We  have  now  considered  the  configuration  of  the 
general  forms  of  the  continents ;  let  us  not  forget  that 
this  is  only  one  half  of  the  plastic  forms  of  the  earth's 
crust.  There  is  another,  which,  though  hidden  from 
our  sight,  is  none  the  less  entitled  to  our  interest.  It  is 
the  basin  of  the  oceans. 

The  positive  forms  of  the  lands  which  we  have 
studied  determine  negatively  for  the  oceans,  whether 
horizontally  or  vertically,  certain  forms  no  less  char- 
acteristic. We  ought,  then,  to  examine  the  character 
of  the  ocean  basins,  in  the  two-fold  relation  of  the  forms 
and  the  indentations  of  their  shores,  and  of  their 
depth.  But  the  time  presses,  and  I  must  be  brief ;  lim- 
iting myself  to  the  essential  facts,  I  shall  omit  all  that 
does  not  touch  directly  upon  my  subject. 

The  continents  determine  the  general  outlines  of  the 
great  ocean  basins.  The  indentations  of  their  coasts 
give  the  articulation  of  the  shores  of  the  oceans;  the 
islands,  by  their  disposition,  by  their  less  or  greater  fre- 
quency, furnish  what  else  is  wanting  to  complete  their 
character  ;  the  one  is  the  counterpart  of  the  other  ;  they 
are  the  same  forms,  but  in  an  inverse  order. 

Two  great  oceans,  the  Pacific  and  the  Atlantic,  cor- 
responding to  the  two  worlds,  surround,  on  almost  all 
sides,  the  principal  terrestrial  masses.  We  may  detach 
from  the  Pacific,  the  Indian.  Ocean,  which,  though 
belonging  to  it,  has  some  special  characteristics ;  and 
separate  from  the  Atlantic,  the  Northern  Frozen  Ocean, 
the  position  of  which  gives  it  a  particular  physiognomy. 

As  to  the  great  Southern  Sea,  we  may  consider  it  less 
as  an  ocean  by  itself  than  as  a  common  reservoir,  whence 


78 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


issue,  so  to  speak,  all  the  seas  of  the  globe,  to  make 
their  way  into  the  lands. 

The  Pacific,  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  Atlantic,  corre- 
spond to  the  three  double  worlds  which  we  have  distin- 
guished, following  StefFens,  and  separate  them  from  one 
another.  Each  of  them,  also,  is  divided  into  a  northern 
and  a  southern  basin,  except  the  Indian  Ocean,  which, 
on  this  account,  is  only  a  half  ocean. 

The  general  forms  of  the  contours  of  these  three 
oceans  have,  as  a  common  feature,  a  wide  opening  to- 
wards the  south,  and  are  narrowed  to  a  point  on  the 
north,  just  the  reverse  of  the  continents.  Each  of  these 
has,  meantime,  a  form  peculiar  to  itself.  The  Pacific 
Ocean  is  an  oval,  wide  open  on  the  south,  the  sides 
coming  nearer  and  nearer  together  towards  the  north, 
so  as  to  leave,  between  America  and  Asia,  only  the 
narrow  passage  of  Behrings'  Straits,  by  which  it  com- 
municates with  the  Frozen  Ocean. 

The  Indian  Ocean  has  the  form  of  a  triangle,  with 
the  vertex  turned  to  the  north;  the  Atlantic  that  of  a 
valley  with  nearly  parallel  sides,  which,  narrowed  for 
a  moment,  then  broadens  into  the  Frozen  Ocean. 

The  oceans  differ,  moreover,  in  the  mode  of  articu- 
lation of  their  shores.  These  indentations  have  very 
various  forms,  which  I  will  classify,  for  the  moment, 
under  three  species :  the  gulfs,  like  that  of  Bengal ;  the 
land-locked  seas,  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  ocean  by 
peninsulas  and  chains  of  islands,  like  the  Sea  of  Japan, 
the  Sea  of  Okhotsk ;  the  inland  seas,  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  the  land,  in  a  continuous  manner,  like  the  Med- 
iterranean and  the  Baltic, 


THE  OCEANS. 


79 


Considered  with  reference  to  the  indentations,  the 
three  oceans  have  their  own  respective  characters,  and 
we  find  that  in  each,  one  of  these  three  forms  predom- 
inates. 

The  Pacific  Ocean  is  that  of  the  land-locked  or  closed 
seas ;  for  there  are  no  less  than  five  of  considerable  size 
along  the  coast  of  Asia :  the  Sea  of  Behring,  closed  in 
by  the  peninsula  of  Aljaska,  and  the  chain  of  the 
Aleutian  Islands;  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  enclosed  by  the 
peninsula  of  Kamtschatka,  and  the  series  of  the  Kurile 
Islands ;  the  Sea  of  Japan,  shut  in  by  the  island  chain 
of  this  name ;  the  northern  Chinese  Sea,  locked  by  the 
islands  of  Lieu-Khieu  and  Formosa;  the  Southern  Sea 
of  China,  locked  by  the  Philippines,  Borneo,  and  the 
peninsula  of  Indo-China.  We  may  almost  call  the 
Vermilion  Sea,  or  Gulf  of  California,  an  inland  sea,  it 
being  the  only  indentation  of  this  ocean  somewhat 
marked,  on  the  American  coast. 

The  Indian  Ocean  is  that  of  gulfs  ;  for  the  two  great 
Gulfs  of  Bengal  and  the  Persian  Sea  impress  upon  it  its 
character.  It  pushes,  besides,  into  the  interior  two  mid- 
land seas,  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the  Red  Sea,  which  detach 
the  peninsula  of  Arabia  from  the  rest  of  the  continent. 

The  Atlantic  Ocean  is  that  of  inland  seas.  No-  one 
advances  further  into  the  lands,  piercing  into  the  very 
heart  of  the  Old  World  and  the  New.  There  are,  at 
least,  four  mediterraneans,  without  taking  into  the 
account  the  Polar  seas ;  two  on  the  European  side,  the 
Mediterranean,  properly  so  called,  divided  into  three 
great  basins ;  the  Eastern,  the  Western,  the  Black  Sea, 
not  to  mention  several  others  of  small  size,  and  the 


80 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Baltic ;  two  on  the  coasts  of  the  New  World,  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  and  Hudson's  Bay.  Neither  is  the  form  of 
land-locked  seas  wanting  here  also ;  the  Northern  Ocean, 
on  the  coasts  of  the  Old  World,  the  Caribbean  Sea  in 
Central  America,  closed  by  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan 
and  the  chain  of  the  greater  and  lesser  Antilles;  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  locked  by  the  peninsula  of  Nova 
Scotia  and  Newfoundland,  are  the  proof.  The  great 
gulfs  are  represented  by  those  of  Guinea  and  of  Biscay. 
The  Atlantic  Ocean  is,  then,  the  most  articulated,  the 
most  indented  of  the  oceans,  and  that  which,  by  its 
blending  with  the  lands,  approaches  the  nearest  to  the 
character  of  the  inland  seas.  It  is,  if  I  may  venture  to 
say  so,  the  most  maritime  of  the  oceans,  as  the  Pacific 
is  the  most  truly  oceanic. 

The  islands,  finally,  are  one  of  the  most  interesting 
characteristics  of  the  oceans.  There  are  two  species  to 
be  distinguished:  the  continental  islands,  which  their 
proximity,  their  size,  their  geographical  character,  their 
forming  a  line  with  the  mountain  chains  of  the  firm 
land,  prove  to  be  a  dependence  of  the  continents;  and 
the  pelagic ,  or  oceanic  islands,  dispersed  singly,  or  in 
groups,  at  a  distance  from  the  lands,  over  the  vast  sur- 
face of  the  ocean,  of  small  dimensions,  and  always  of 
a  volcanic  or  coralline  character. 

The  Pacific  Ocean  is  far  the  richest  in  islands,  whether 
continental  or  pelagic.  The  Indian  archipelago  and 
that  of  New  Holland  is  the  largest  continental  archi- 
pelago existing  on  the  surface  of  the  globe ;  and  the 
thousands  of  pelagic  islands  with  which  the  centre  of 
this  ocean  is  studded,  have  nowhere  else  their  parallel. 


THE  OCEANS. 


81 


The  Atlantic  Ocean  possesses  still,  in  the  group  of  the 
Antilles,  the  British  Isles,  and  those  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, continental  archipelagos  of  great  importance ; 
but  the  pelagic  islands  are  poorly  represented  there  by 
the  groups  of  the  Azores,  Madeira,  the  Canaries,  Cape 
Verd,  St.  Helena,  and  some  other  small  islands  lost  in 
the  midst  of  the  ocean. 

The  Indian  Ocean  is  scanty  in  both.  Madagascar  and 
Ceylon,  one  by  a  main-land,  represent  the  continental 
islands.  Here  and  there  a  few  volcanic  islands,  as 
Mauritius  and  Bourbon,  represent  the  pelagic. 

Each  ocean,  therefore,  differs  from  the  others,  in  some 
peculiarities  of  character ;  and  we  readily  conceive  how 
these  circumstances  may  modify  their  importance,  with 
regard  to  the  facility  or  the  difficulty  they  may  bring 
into  the  relations  of  exchange  which  commerce  estab- 
lishes among  all  the  nations  of  the  world. 

Let  us  now  see  what  is  known  of  the  vertical  dimen- 
sions, or  of  the  configuration  of  their  basin. 

The  basin  of  the  oceans  is  depressed  below  the  face 
of  their  waters,  as  the  continents  are  elevated  in  the 
atmosphere  above  the  same  surface  level.  It  may,  then, 
be  said,  that  we  know  not  one  half  of  the  reliefs  of  the 
solid  crust  of  our  globe,  for  more  than  two  thirds  are 
concealed  fr&m  our  observation  by  the  seas  that  cover 
them.  It  would,  nevertheless,  be  of  the  highest  interest 
for  geology,  as  well  as  for  the  physics  of  the  globe,  to 
ascertain  the  forms,  the  depth,  and  the  nature  of  the 
bottom  of  the  oceans.  But  though  we  have  numerous 
soundings,  executed  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  shores,  to 


82- 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


meet  the  wants  of  navigation,  we  have  only  a  very  few 
in  the  interior,  and  in  the  deepest  parts  of  the  oceans. 
These  operations  require  a  consumption  of  time,  and  an 
amount  of  labor,  which  will  always  render  them  rare. 
Recourse  has  been  had  to  hypotheses,  while  waiting  for 
positive  information  on  the  subject. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  the  continents,  the  seas  are 
often  shallow,  and  their  bottom  seems  to  be  only  the 
continuation,  by  gentle  slopes,  of  the  relief  of  the  con- 
tinents that  border  them.  Thus  the  Baltic  Sea  has 
a  depth  of  only  120  feet  between  the  coasts  of  Germany 
and  those  of  Sweden ;  scarcely  a  twentieth  part  of  that 
of  Lago  Maggiore,  in  the  Italian  Alps;  further  north,  it 
becomes  deeper.  The  Adriatic,  between  Venice  and 
Trieste,  has  a  depth  of  only  130  feet.  In  these  two 
cases,  we  see  that  the  bed  is  only  the  continuation  of 
the  gentle  inclination  of  the  plains  of  Northern  Germany 
and  of  Friuli.  It  is  the  same  with  the  Northern  Sea, 
and  with  those  which  wash  the  British  Islands.  Here  is 
found  a  submarine  plateau,  which  serves  as  a  common 
basis  for  the  coasts  of  France  and  the  British  Islands ; 
nowhere  does  it  sink  lower  than  600  feet,  and  frequently 
it  rises  much  higher.  Between  France  and  England, 
the  greatest  depth  does  not  exceed  300  feet ;  but  at  the 
edge  of  the  plateau,  south-west  of  Ireland,  for  example, 
the  depth  suddenly  sinks  to  more  than  2JQ00  feet ;  we 
may  say  that  here  the  basin  of  the  Atlantic  really 
begins. 

The  soas  in  the  south  of  Europe  are  distinguished 
from  the  preceding  by  their  much  greater  depths.  The 
basin  of  the  Mediterranean  may  be  called  a  basin  broken 


THE  OCEANS. 


83 


through,  and  fallen  in,  resembling  on  a  small  scale  what 
the  Pacific  Ocean  is  on  a  large  one.  All  the  short  and 
abrupt  slopes  of  the  lands  surrounding  it  fall  rapidly 
towards  the  interior.  The  western  basin,  in  particular, 
seems  to  be  very  deep ;  it  is  isolated  from  the  Atlantic, 
by  a  submarine  ridge  or  neck,  which,  in  the  narrowest 
part  of  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  is  not  more  than  1,000 
feet  below  the  surface.  But  a  little  further  towards  the 
east,  the  depth  falls  suddenly  to  3,000  feet;  and  at  the 
south  of  the  coast  of  Spain,  and  of  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
a  depth  of  nearly  6,000  has  been  ascertained  by  Captain 
Smith.  Captain  Berard  indicates  still  greater  depths 
on  the  coast  of  Algeria.  If  we  may  believe  Marsigli, 
and  if  he  has  not  made  some  mistake  in  the  statement, 
there  has  been  found  in  the  prolongation  of  the  Pyre- 
nees, the  enormous  depth  of  9,000  feet.  Not  far  from 
Cape  Asmara,  on  the  north-west  of  Sardinia,  the  plum- 
met has  been  sunk,  without  touching  bottom,  at  a  depth 
of  nearly  5,000  feet. 

Between  Sicily  and  the  coast  of  Africa,  at  Cape  Bon, 
a  second  neck,  from  50  to  500  feet  in  depth,  separates 
the  western  from  the  eastern  basin  of  the  Mediterranean. 
The  latter  seems  to  be  less  deep  than  the  former ;  never- 
theless, depths  of  from  2,000  to  3,000  feet  have  been 
determined  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Ionian  Islands, 
*  and  the  soutlrern  coast  of  Asia  Minor. 

The  Black  Sea  seems  to  partake  of  the  character  of 
a  sunk  basin.  The  Russian  maps  give  it  more  than 
3,000  feet  south  of  the  Crimea,  and  2,500  on  the  coast 
of  Abkhasie.  The  Caspian  Sea,  placed  on  the  limits 
of  the  northern  plains,  and  of  the  table  land  of  Persia, 


■ 


84 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


is  composed  of  two  basins.  The  northern  part,  as  far 
as  the  Caucasus,  is  shallow ;  it  is  the  continuation  of 
the  low  plains  of  the  Volga,  and  of  the  Oural.  This  limit 
passed,  the  depth  rapidly  increases  towards  the  basis  of 
the  high  chain  of  the  Demavend. 

Thus,  in  the  European  seas,  the  depth  increases  with 
the  elevation  of  the  surrounding  lands. 

The  line  of  the  islands  and  the  peninsulas  forming 
along  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia  the  numerous  locked 
seas  we  have  already  named,  seems  to  indicate  the 
ancient  border  of  a  continent.  Within  this  line  these 
seas  have  only  an  inconsiderable  depth.  The  seas 
which  bathe  the  archipelago  of  the  Sunda  Islands,  and 
of  Southern  China,  scarcely  anywhere  reach  the  depth 
of  300  feet.  Further  north,  we  find  scarcely  four  or 
five  hundred  feet,  even  at  a  distance  of  more  than  100 
miles  from  the  coasts.  The  deeps  of  the  ocean  begin 
only  outside  of  the  line  of  the  islands. 

Since  Dampier,  it  has  often  been  said  that  the  sea  is 
always  deep  at  the  foot  of  high  and  steep  shores,  and 
shallow  at  the  edge  of  low  coasts.  The  facts  just 
cited  prove  that  this  observation,  correct  in  many 
cases,  has  only  a  relative  value,  and  does  not  hold 
good  universally.  Those  shallow  seas  of  Eastern  Asia 
are  edged  in  great  part  by  very  highlands.  The 
massive  point  of  the  south  of  Africa  ends  with  abrupt 
coasts,  and  yet  it  is  necessary  to  go  out  more  than  100 
miles  before  finding  600  feet  of  water.  According  to 
this  rule,  we  should  expect  to  find  no  greater  depth  of 
sea  than  at  the  western  foot  of  the  lofty  Andes,  the 
declivities  of  which  sweep  down  so  suddenly  into  the 


THE  OCEANS. 


85 


Pacific  Ocean ;  and  nevertheless,  under  the  parallel  of 
Lima,  this  ocean  has  only  600  feet,  more  than  forty  miles 
from  the  coast.  On  the  other  hand,  the  low  plains  of 
the  Landes  of  Bordeaux,  on  the  coast  of  France,  lying 
along  the  Gulf  of  Biscay,  look  out  upon  a  sea,  the  bottom 
of  which,  at  a  short  distance,  sinks  already  lower  than 
a  thousand  feet. 

In  Central  America,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  300  miles 
from  the  coast  of  the  United  States,  and  100  miles  north 
of  Yucatan,  has  a  depth  of  only  600  feet ;  it  is,  perhaps, 
a  submarine  continuation  of  the  plains  of  Mississippi. 
Beyond  the  line  of  the  Antilles,  on  the  contrary,  in  the  vol- 
canic basin  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  Captain  Sabine  indi- 
cates a  temperature  taken  at  6,000  feet  below  the  surface. 

With  regard  to  the  depths  of  the  open  sea,  they  are 
still  but  little  known ;  we  have,  however,  some  very 
interesting  measurements  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  I  cite 
the  most  remarkable : 

Captains  Scoresby  and  Parry  found  the  basin  of  the 
Polar  seas  very  deep,  but  unequal.  Scoresby  did  not 
touch  bottom,  at  the  76  th  degree  of  north  latitude,  with  a 
sounding  line  of  7,200  feet  in  length.  Captain  J.  Ross 
went  beyond  6,000,  in  Baffin's  Bay.  Science  is  indebted 
to  the  skilful  direction  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey, 
for  a  great  number  of  very  instructive  soundings  on  the 
"American  side  of  the  middle  part  of  the  Atlantic.  One 
of  the  ablest  of  those  engaged  in  this  service,  Captain 
Charles  H.  Davis,  U.  S.  N.,  whose  labors  have  contrib- 
uted so  much  to  a  better  knowledge  of  the  true  conforma- 
tion of  the  submarine  portion  of  the  United  States  coasts, 
dropped  the  lead  7,800  feet,  about  250  miles  south  of 
8 


SB 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Nantucket ;  Lieutenant  G.  Bache,  13,000  feet,  34°  N.  L. 
The  report  of  Professor  A.  D.  Bache,  Superintendent  of 
the  Survey,  mentions,  among  the  operations  of  1848,  a 
thermometrical  sounding,  taken  by  the  late  Lieutenant 
R.  Bache,  off  Cape  Hatteras,  giving  a  depth  of  3,300 
fathoms,  or  19,800  feet,  without  reaching  the  bottom. 
This  depth,  which  left  far  behind  all  hitherto  ascertained 
in  these  quarters,  has  very  recently  been  surpassed  by  a 
sounding  executed  by  Lieutenant  Walsh,  U.  S.  N.,  under 
the  direction  of  Lieutenant  M.  F.  Maury,  *  director  of  the 
Observatory  at  Washington.  On  the  15th  of  November, 
1849,  east  of  the  Bermudas,  31°  59'  north  latitude,  and 
58°  43'  25"  west  longitude  from  Greenwich,  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  position  assigned  to  the 
rocks  called  the  False  Bermudas,  the  weather  being  calm 
and  beautiful,  Lieutenant  Walsh,  U.  S.  N.,  sunk  the  lead 
to  the  depth  of  5,700  fathoms,  or  34,200  feet,  without 
touching  bottom.  The  breaking  of  the  line  alone  pre- 
vented him  from  reaching  a  greater  depth  still,  for  all 
the  circumstances  seemed  eminently  favorable.  This 
depth,  which  exceeds  by  6,600  feet  the  deepest  of 
the  celebrated  measurements  of  Captain  J.  C.  Ross, 
is  the  greatest  ever  ascertained,  and  reveals,  beneath 
the  tranquil  surface  of  the  ocean,  abysms  which  we 
hardly  ventured  to  suspect.  The  southern  basin  of  the 
Atlantic  seems  to  have  its  share  of  these  immense  depths, 
although  some  indications  have  given  rise  to  the  belief 

#  For  the  opportunity  of  making  known  this  remarkable  fact,  I  am 
indebted  to  the  kindness  of  this  scientific  gentleman,  whose  zeal  for  the 
study  of  the  phenomena  of  the  sea,  and  the  services  he  has  rendered  to 
navigation,  by  the  study  of  the  winds  and  currents,  are  universally 
known. 


THE  OCEANS. 


87 


in  the  existence  of  high  bottoms,  separating  this  basin 
from  that  of  the  north.  Captain  J.  C.  Ross  found  16,000 
feet  in  depth,  west  of  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  27,600, 
without  touching  bottom,  west  of  St.  Helena.  The  first 
of  these  measurements  equals  the  height  of  Mt.  Blanc, 
and  the  second  almost  reaches  that  of  the  Dhavala-Giri ; 
but  it  would  be  necessary  to  add  Mt.  Washington,  with  its 
6,000  feet,  to  the  height  of  this  giant  of  terrestrial  sum- 
mits, to  attain  a  height  equal  to  the  sounding  of  Lieut. 
Walsh.  Thus  the  greatest  known  sea  depth,  added  to 
the  elevation  of  the  highest  mountain  of  the  globe,  gives 
us  over  62,000  feet  for  the  thickness  of  the  layer  of  our 
globe,  upon  which  our  investigations  have  supplied  some 
information. 

Dr.  Young,  relying  upon  deductions  drawn  chiefly 
from  the  theory  of  the  tides,  thought  himself  justified  in 
assigning  about  15,000  feet  to  the  Atlantic,  and  about 
20,000  feet  to  the  Pacific.  D'Aubuisson  believes  them 
not  to  exceed  from  9,000  to  12,000  feet.  Now  we  see 
that  the  actual  measurements  leave  these  estimates  far 
behind. 

Laplace,  guided  by  theoretical  considerations  with 
regard  to  the  general  form  of  the  globe,  admitted  that 
the  mean  depth  of  the  seas  is  a  quantity  of  the  same 
order  with  the  mean  elevation  of  the  continents ;  which, 
he  says,  does  not  surpass  a  thousand  metres,  or  3,000 
feet.  But  the  beautiful  researches  of  Humboldt  have 
proved  that  this  estimate  of  the  mean  relief  of  the  con- 
tinents is  far  too  high.  He  has  sought  to  determine  its 
true  value,  and  has  found,  as  the  most  probable  result, 
the  following  numbers  for  the  different  continents : 


ss 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Mean  elevation. 


Europe,    .  . 
Asia,    .    .  . 
North  America. 
South  America, 


671  feet. 
1,151  " 

748  " 
1,132  " 


He  consequently  places  the  mean  elevation  of  the  con- 
tinental lands  at  1,008  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean. 

Now  this  number  is  evidently  too  low  to  express  the 
mean  depth  of  the  oceans. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  not  be  uninteresting 
to  compare  the  depths  observed  in  the  Southern  Atlantic, 
with  what  would  be  found  by  supposing  that  the  general 
planes  of  inclination  of  the  opposite  continents  of  Africa 
and  America  were  prolonged  until  they  met  under  the 
surface  of  the  ocean.  Professor  B.  Peirce  has  had  the 
kindness  to  make  the  calculation,  which  gives  the  follow- 
ing result.  Taking  as  points  of  departure  for  Africa,  the 
table  lands  of  Southern  Africa,  at  the  foot  of  the  Lupata, 
and  estimating  their  height  at  5,000  feet ;  and  for  Amer- 
ica, the  table  lands  of  Bolivia,  estimated  at  12,000 :  the 
planes  which  pass  through  the  respective  coasts  of  these 
continents  intersect  each  other  at  a  distance  of  nearly  a 
thousand  miles  from  the  coast  of  America;  that  is,  a 
third  of  the  way  across  the  Atlantic,  and  7,600  feet 
below  the  surface  of  the  oceans.  If  the  points  of  de- 
parture were  taken  at  the  summit  of  the  Lupata,  at 
J  .,000  feet,  and  of  the  Andes,  at  24,000,  the  depth  would 
be  about  15,000  feet,  which  perhaps  is  not  far  from  the 
mean  depth  of  this  part  of  the  great  oceanic  valley.  But 
we  see  that  other  causes  depress  the  level,  in  some  parts, 
to  depths  twice  as  great.  The  basins  are  not,  therefore, 
mere  continuations  of  the  general  relief  of  the  continents, 


THE  OCEANS. 


89 


and  this  is  otherwise  shown  by  their  conformation.  On 
leaving  the  greater  part  of  the  shores,  the  submarine 
ground  descends  slowly,  in  a  proportion  sufficiently 
analogous  to  the  general  slopes  presented  by  the  ground 
above  water  on  the  continents.  But^  at  a  point  more  or 
less  distant  from  the  shore,  the  slopes  abruptly  change, 
the  depths  suddenly  increase,  and  often  become  ten  times 
as  great  at  a  short  distance.  I  will  cite,  as  examples,  the 
very  exact  lines  of  soundings  traced  perpendicularly  to 
the  coast,  at  several  points,  between  New  Jersey  and  Block 
Island,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  Long  Island,  under 
the  direction  of  Professor  A.  D.  Bache,  for  which  I  am 
indebted  to  his  kindness.  In  all  the  sections,  we  see  the 
ground  descend  slowly,  gradually,  and  without  great 
variations,  to  the  distance  of  80  or  100  miles  from  the 
shore,  where  the  depth  scarcely  reaches  from  four  to  five 
hundred  feet.  Beyond  this  distance,  the  depth  invari- 
ably increases  so  rapidly,  that  it  is  sufficient  to  proceed 
ten  miles  further  to  find  three'  or  four  thousand  feet. 
The  first  part  is  about  five  feet  a  mile;  the  second, 
more  than  four  hundred. 

It  is  the  same  with  nearly  all  the  grand  banks,  or  high 
bottoms  under  water.  That  of  Newfoundland,  that  of 
Las  Lagullas,  at  the  southern  point  of  Africa,  all  termi- 
nate, towards  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  in  abrupt  descents, 
along  a  great  part  of  their  extent.  The  bottom  of  the 
sea,  near  the  coast,  and  the  great  banks,  present  them- 
selves as  high  plateaus,  compared  with  the  bottom  of  the 
oceans.  But  differences  of  level,  amounting  to  10,000 
feet  over  a  horizontal  space  of  ten  miles ;  of  20,000  feet, 
as  between  the  sea  of  Cape  Hatteras  and  the  shore ;  of 
8* 


90 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


34,000  feet,  as  between  the  sea  of  Bermudas  and  the 
neighboring  continent,  reveal  to  us  forms«of  relief  of  such 
a  magnitude  that  we  seek  in  vain  for  their  parallel  in 
the  most  elevated  terrestrial  masses.  Neither  the  broad 
table  lands  of  Mexico,  or  of  California,  nor  those  of 
Bolivia,  or  of  the  Himalaya,  which  after  all  are  only 
local  swellings,  offer  proportions  approaching  those  we 
have  just  stated  in  the  submarine  relief  of  the  basin  of  the 
oceans.  I  must  here  stop  from  pursuing  this  interesting 
question  of  comparative  physical  geography,  which  at 
present  I  barely  touch  upon.  We  must  wait  for  still 
more  numerous  facts,  in  order  to  attempt  its  complete 
solution.  Let  me  add,  that  it  would  be  worthy  of  an 
enlightened  government,  like  that  of  the  United  States, 
to  bestow  on  science  a  regular  section  across  the  middle 
regions  of  the  northern  Atlantic  basin,  —  that  grand 
highway  of  the  nations,  travelled  by  thousands  of  ships. 
Three  or  four  hundred  soundings,  penetrating  to  the 
bottom  of  its  abysses,  would  be  enough  to  give  us  a 
tolerable  idea  of  the  forms  of  this  basin,  and  would, 
doubtless,  correct  many  false  ideas  imposed  upon  us  by 
the  limited  views  of  geology  we  have  gained  upon  our 
continents.  Many  of  the  scientific  expeditions  of  modern 
times  have  had  an  aim,  and  have  accomplished  results 
less  useful  to  science,  and  have  cost  sums  vastly  greater, 
than  would  be  necessary  to  furnish  science  with  such 
important  information. 

What  the  measurements  above  indicated  have  settled, 
may  be  thus  summed  up  :  — 

The  seas  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  continents  are 
ordinarily  of  but  little  depth,  and  seem  to  indicate  aeon- 


THE  OCEANS. 


91 


tinuation  of  the  relief  of  the  continents.  But  at  a  certain 
distance  from  the  shores,  the  sounding  gives  suddenly 
great  depths,  and  this  abrupt  transition  seems  to  indicate 
the  submarine  border  of  the  proper  basin  of  the  oceans. 

Certain  interior  seas,  like  the  Mediterranean  and 
Caribbean,  are  deeper  than  would  be  expected  from 
their  proximity  to  the  lands,  and  seem  to  be  sunken 
basins,  the  form  of  which  is  connected  with  the  vol- 
canic phenomena  often  displayed  over  their  whole  ex- 
tent, but  chiefly  on  their  margins;  that  is,  on  the 
principal  line  of  fractures. 

The  interior  of  the  basin  of  the  oceans  is  unequal, 
generally  deeper  than  towards  the  borders.  The  greatest 
observed  depths  are  found  in  the  middle  region  of  the 
Atlantic.  They  equal,  or  surpass,  by  several  thousand 
feet,  the  elevation  of  the  highest  mountains  of  the  globe, 
and  are  found,  like  them,  in  the  neighborhood  of  both 
tropics. 

The  mean  depth  of  the  basin,  of  the  ocean  seems  to  be 
much  more  considerable  than  the  mean  elevation  of  the 
continents  above  their  surface,  and  appears  to  increase 
with  the  relief  of  the  neighboring  continents. 

We  have  thus  finished  our  survey  of  the  great  forms 
of  the  terrestrial  surface.  We  have  examined  them  as 
the  anatomist  would  examine  the  body  of  an  animal. 
This  was  the  first  step  "to  take,  the  necessary  condition 
of  our  study.  But  this  knowledge  cannot  be  sufficient. 
We  must  now  see  these  great  organs  in  operation;  we 
must  see  them  in  life,  acting  and  reacting  upon  each 
other ;  we  must  commence  the  physiology  of  the  conti- 
nental forms, 


92 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


But  we  will  not  plunge  into  the  infinite  details  that 
might  be  embraced  in  our  subject.  We  shall  continue 
to  study  the  great  features,  the  prominent  traits,  which 
will  offer  themselves  to  our  notice. 

After  having  recognized  great  terrestrial  individuals, 
presenting,  by  their  forms  and  their  disposition,  an 
assemblage  of  characters  peculiar  to  them  alone,  we  have 
to  inquire  if,  in  virtue  of  these  forms  themselves,  and  of 
this  particular  position,  each  of  these  individuals  has  not 
a  peculiar  physical  life,  manifesting  itself,  in  the  main, 
by  a  climate,  a  vegetation,  an  animal  world,  and,  rela- 
tively to  human  societies,  by  special  functions  which 
belong  to  no  other.  We  shall  endeavor  to  discover  if 
there  is  not  here,  also,  a  general  law,  which  gives  us  the 
key  to  all  these  partial  phenomena,  helping  to  group 
them,  and  to  grasp,  in  the  true  point  of  view,  the  col- 
lective manifestations  of  the  life  of  our  planet,  whether 
in  nature,  or  in  the  history  of  man. 

But  to  this  end,  gentlemen,  in  order  to  place  you  in 
the  point  of  view  from  which  I  would  have  you  con- 
sider with  me  the  phenomena  of  the  life  of  the  globe,  I 
cannot  avoid  the  necessity  of  carrying  you  for  a  moment 
into  a  world  somewhat  different  from  the  world  of 
forms  wherein  we  have  thus  far  moved,  and  to  appeal 
to  the  eyes  of  your  mind,  rather  than  to  those  which 
have,  up  to  the  present  moment*  been  fixed  upon  these 
maps. 

In  fact,  nothing  less  is  necessary  than  to  say  to  you, 
in  as  few  WQrds  as  possible,  —  to  prove  to  you,  if  it  can  be 
done,  —  that  there  is  a  law  of  life  and  of  growth,  which, 
if  taken  in  its  most  general  formula,  in  its  rhythm,  is 


THE  LAW  OF  LIFE. 


93 


applicable  to  all  that  undergoes  the  process  of  develop- 
ment. 

All  life,  as  we  have  said,  gentlemen,  in  its  most  sim- 
ple formula,  may  be  defined  as  a  mutual  exchange  of 
relations. 

An  exchange  supposes  at  least  two  elements,  two 
bodies,  two  individuals,  a  duality  and  a  difference,  an 
inequality  between  them,  in  virtue  of  which  the  ex- 
change is  established. 

There  is,  then,  at  the  foundation  of  all  the  phenom- 
ena of  life,  a  difference  between  two  or  more  individ- 
uals, calling  out  an  action  and  reaction  of  one  upon 
the  other,  the  incessant  alternation  of  which  constitutes 
the  movement  we  call  life,  and  which  gives  birth 
to  all  the  phenomena  we  consider  as  its  manifesta- 
tion. 

Let  us  endeavor,  first,  to  detect  this  law  in  inorganic 
nature. 

This  lamp  that  gives  us  light,  the  gas  that  burns 
before  our  eyes,  what  else  is  it  than  one  of  those  phe- 
nomena of  inorganic  life,  the  result  of  the  mutual 
and  repeated  action  of  two  heterogeneous  bodies  upon 
each  other?  We  have,  on  the  one  side,  the  hydro- 
gen gas,  conducted  by  this  pipe,  and  brought  into  the 
presence  of  oxygen  contained  in  the  air.  These  are  two 
bodies  considered  as  simple,  but  having  different  prop- 
erties. Place  them  in  contact,  under  suitable  condition? 
of  temperature,  and  the  mutual  action  immediately 
commences;  they  combine  with  an  activity  which  be- 
comes visible  to  the  senses  by  the  rapid  development  of 
heat  and  light ;  and  in  this  continuous,  vital  movement 


94  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

their  differences  are  extinguished,  or  rather  combine  and 
harmonize  in  a  new  body,  a  product,  the  end  of  all 
this  activity,  in  which  the  antagonism  of  the  primitive 
elements  has  ceased.  This  new  body  is  water;  it 
is  a  liquid,  and  no  longer  a  gas ;  it  is  a  body,  all  the 
physical  properties  of  which  are  different  from  those 
that  compose  it,  which,  as  you  know,  play  very  differ- 
ent parts  throughout  nature.  This  same  gas  that  serves 
to  light  us,  contains  also  carbon;  this  also  combines 
with  oxygen  to  form  a  new  body  of  carbonic  acid  gas, 
the  properties  of  which  are  all  special  in  it. 

Each  of  these  new  products  may,  in  turn,  enter  into 
relations  of  exchange  with  others,  and  pass  as  an  ele- 
mentary body  into  a  new  combination,  the  result  of 
which  will  be  a  body  composed  of  four  simple  elements, 
but  endowed,  as  such,  with  entirely  different  qualities, 
belonging  to  it  alone.  It  may,  in  turn,  become  one  of  the 
elements  composing  a  multitude  of  bodies  ;  and  it  is  thus 
that  the  sixty  elements  our  chemical  means  have  not 
enabled  us  to  decompose,  which  chemists  call  simple 
bodies,  supply  nature  with  materials  sufficient  for  the 
immeasurable  variety  of  all  the  compound  bodies  that 
exist. 

What  do  we  see,  finally,  in  all  this  physical  and 
chemical  process  ?  A  primitive  difference  between  two 
substances,  an  action  and  reaction  of  one  upon  the  other, 
and  their  combination  in  a  new  body,  which  may,  in  its 
turn,  perform  the  same  part.  I  mark,  gentlemen,  these 
phases  of  the  phenomenon  going  on.  at  the  present 
moment,  under  our  eyes. 

Without  coming  into  combination,  a  difference  between 


THE  LAW  OF  LIFE. 


95 


two  bodies  excites  none  the  less  a  vital  movement. 
Place  near  each  other  a  plate  of  zinc  and  a  plate  of  cop- 
per; these  two  enter  immediately  into  an  interchange 
of  positive  and  negative  electricity,  and  give  birth  to 
those  powerful  electrical  and  magnetic  currents  which 
modern  industry  puts  to  such  admirable  use.  I  say, 
further,  place  side  by  side  two  plates  of  the  same  metal, 
but  unequally  heated,  and  there  is  established  between 
them  an  interchange  of  temperature,  and  of  electrical 
currents  of  the  same  nature.  Thus  everywhere  a  simple 
difference,  be  it  of  matter,  be  it  of  condition,  be  it  of 
position,  excites  a  manifestation  of  vital  forces,  a  mutual 
exchange  between  the  bodies,  each  giving  to  the  other 
what  the  other  does  not  possess.  To  multiply  these 
differences,  to  increase  their  variety,  is  to  render  the 
actions  and  reactions  more  frequent,  is  to  extend  and  to 
intensify  life. 

But  let  us  pass  to  organized  nature.  It  would  be 
easy  to  demonstrate,  gentlemen,  that  -the  law  we  have 
just  recognized  is  also  that  which  governs  the  growth 
of  the  vegetable;  but  I  would  rather  trace  it  in 
the  animal  world,  wherein  it  is  expressed  still  more 
clearly. 

Let  us  see,  first,  how  nature  proceeds  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  organic  individual,  the  animal.  No  one  has 
shown  it  better  than  my  learned  friend,^  whom  I  need 
not  name  in  this  place.  Thanks  to  him,  these  facts 
have  become  familiar  to  you  ;  I  shall  need  only  to  recall 
them  to  your  minds. 

I  begin  with  the  animal  considered  in  itself  as  an 

*  Professor  Agassiz. 


96 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


individual.  In  a  liquid  animal  matter,  without  precise 
form,  homogeneous,  at  least  in  appearance,  a  mass  is 
outlined  which  takes  determinate  contours,  and  is  distin- 
guished from  the  rest ;  it  is  the  egg.  Soon,  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  egg,  the  elements  separate,  diverging  tenden- 
cies are  established ;  the  matter  accumulates  and  con- 
centrates itself  upon  certain  points;  these  accumulations 
assume  more  distinct  forms  and  more  specific  charac- 
ters ;  we  see  organs  traced,  a  head,  an  eye,  a  heart,  an 
alimentary  canal.  But  this  diversification  does  not  go 
on  indefinitely.  Under  the  influence  of  a  special  force, 
all  these  diverse  tendencies  are  drawn  together  towards  a 
single  end ;  these  distinct  organs  are  united  and  coordi- 
nated in  one  whole,  and  perform  their  functions  in  the 
interest  and  for  the  service  of  the  individual  command- 
ing them. 

What,  then,  has  been  the  course  pursued  here  by 
nature  ? 

The  point  of  departure  is  a  unit,  but  a  homogeneous 
unit,  without  internal  differences;  a  chaotic  unit,  if  I 
may  venture  to  say  so ;  for  what  is  a  chaos  but  this 
absence  of  organization  in  a  mass,  all  the  parts  of  which 
are  alike  ? 

The  progress ;  it  is  diversity,  the  establishment  of  dif- 
ferences, the  giving  to  forms  and  functions  their  special 
characters. 

The  end ;  it  is  a  new  unit,  the  organic  or  harmonic 
unit,  if  you  please;  for  all  the  individual  organs  are  not 
fortuitously  assembled,  but  have  each  of  them  their 
place  and  their  functions  marked  out. 

The  totality  of  these  evolutions  is  what  is  ordinarily 
called  development '. 


THE  LAW  OF  LIFE. 


97 


The  progress,  we  say,  is  diversification  ;  it  is  the  vari- 
ety of  organs  and  of  functions.  What,  then,  is  the  con- 
dition of  a  greater  amount  of  life,  of  a  richer  life,  of  a 
completer  growth  for  the  animal  %  Is  it  not  the  multi- 
plicity and  the  variety  of  the  special  organs,  which  are 
so  many  different  means  whereby  the  individual  may 
place  himself  in  relation  with  the  external  world,  may 
receive  the  most  varied  impressions  from  it,  and,  so  to 
speak,  may  taste  it  in  all  its  forms,  and  may  act  upon  it 
in  turn  %  What  an  immense  distance  between  the  life 
of  the  polype,  which  is  only  a  digestive  tube,  and  that 
of  the  superior  animals;  above  all,  of  man,  endowed 
with  so  many  exquisite  senses,  for  whom  the  world  of 
nature,  as  well  as  the  world  of  ideas,  is  open  on  all 
sides,  awakening  and  drawing  forth,  in  a  thousand 
various  ways,  all  the  living  forces  wherewith  God  has 
endowed  him ! 

And  what  we  here  say  of  organic  individuals  —  is  it 
not  true  of  societies  of  individuals,  and  particularly  of 
human  societies  ?  Is  it  not  evident  that  the  same  law 
of  development  is  applicable  to  them  ?  Here,  again, 
homogeneousness,  uniformity,  is  the  elementary  state, 
the  savage  state.  Diversity,  variety  of  elements,  which 
call  for  and  multiply  exchanges ;  the  almost  infinite 
specialization  of  the  functions  corresponding  to  the 
various  talents  bestowed  on  every  man  by  Providence, 
and  only  called  into  action  and  brought  to  light  by 
the  thousand  wants  of  a  society  as  complicated  as  ours, 
—  these  have,  in  all  times,  been  the  sign  of  a  social 
state  arrived  at  a  high  degree  of  improvement. 

Could  we,  indeed,  conceive  the  possibility  of  this  mul- 
9 


98 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


titude  of  industrial  talents  that  have  their  birth  in  the 
wants  of  luxury,  and  are  revealed  by  the  thousand  ele- 
gant nothings  displayed  in  our  drawing-rooms,  among 
the  Indians  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  sheltered  by  the 
few  branches  which  form  their  wretched  huts?  The 
commercial  life,  which  creates  the  prosperity  of  the 
foremost  nations  of  the  globe,  —  is  it  possible  among  a 
people  whose  ambition  is  limited  to  hunting  in  the  neigh- 
boring wild  the  animal  that  is  to  furnish  food  for  the 
day  ?  Could  we  hope  to  see  the  wonders  of  architecture 
unfolded  among  a  people  who  have  no  public  edifices 
but  the  overhanging  foliage  of  their  forests  ?  Had  Ra- 
phael been  born  among  them,  would  he  ever  have  given 
his  admirable  masterpieces  to  the  world?  And  the 
precious  treasures  of  intelligence  and  of  lofty  thoughts 
contained  in  our  libraries,  —  where  would  they  be,  if 
human  societies  had  preserved  the  simplicity  a  false 
philosophy  has  called  the  simplicity  of  nature,  but  in 
reality  the  most  opposed  to  the  true  nature  of  man  ? 

No,  gentlemen,  it  is  the  exchange  of  products  by  the 
commerce  of  the  world,  that  makes  the  material  life 
and  prosperity  of  the  nations.  It  is  the  exchange  of 
thoughts,  by  the  pen  and  by  speech,  that  sets  in  mo- 
tion the  progress  of  intelligence.  It  is  the  interchange 
of  the  sentiments  and  affections,  that  makes  the  moral 
life  and  secures  the  happiness  of  man. 

Thus,  gentlemen,  all  life  is  mutual,  is  exchange.  In 
individuals,  as  well  as  in  societies,  that  which  excites 
life,  that  which  is  the  condition  of  life,  is  difference. 
The  progress  of  development  is  diversity;  the  end  is 
the  harmonious  unity  allowing  all  differences,  all  indi- 


THE  LAW  OF  LIFE. 


99 


vidualities  to  exist,  but  coordinating  and  subjecting  them 
to  a  superior  aim. 

Every  being,  every  individual,  necessarily  forms  a 
part  of  a  greater  organism  than  itself,  out  of  which  we 
cannot  conceive  its  existence,  and  in  which  it  has  a 
special  part  to  act.  By  performing  these  functions,  it 
rises  to  the  highest  degree  of  perfection  its  own  nature 
is  capable  of  attaining.  Unhappy  he  who  isolates  him- 
self, and  refuses  to  enter  into  those  relations  of  inter- 
course with  others  which  assure  to  him  a  superior  life. 
He  deprives  himself  voluntarily  of  the  nutritive  sap 
intended  to  give  him  vigor,  and,  like  a  branch  torn  from 
the  vine,  dries  up  and  perishes  in  his  egoism. 

All  is  order,  all  is  harmony  in  the  universe,  because 
-the  whole  universe  is  a  thought  of  God  ;  and  it  appears 
as  a  combination  of  organisms,  each  of  which  is  only  an 
integral  part  of  one  still  more  sublime.  God  alone  con- 
tains them  all,  without  making  a  part  of  any. 


LECTURE  IV. 


Recapitulation — Is  the  law  of  development  applicable  to  the  whole 
globe ,  considered  as  an  individual  ? — Origin  of  the  Earth  according 
to  the  hypothesis  of  Laplace  and  Herschell — Gradual  formation  of 
the  continents — Europe  at  the  Silurian  epoch — North  America  at  the 
Carboniferous  epoch — Character  of  inferiority  of  the  organized 
beings  which  correspond  to  these  ancient  formations — Europe  at  the 
Tertiary  epoch — Greater  diversity  and  perfection  of  the  organized 
beings — Distinction  of  the  three  epochs ;  the  insular,  the  maritime, 
and  the  continental — The  formula  of  development  the  same  for  the 
entire  globe  and  for  the  organized  beings — Consequences — The  law 
of  differences  and  the  law  of  contrasts — The  three  grand  terrestrial 
contrasts. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : — 

We  have  recognized,  in  the  life  of  all  that  develops 
itself,  three  successive  states,  three  grand  phases,  three 
evolutions,  identically  repeated  in  every  order  of  exist- 
ence; a  chaos,  where  all  is  confounded  together;  a 
development,  where  all  is  separating;  a  unity,  where 
all  is  binding  itself  together  and  organizing.  We  have 
observed  that  here  is  the  law  of  phenomenal  life,  the 
formula,  of  development,  whether  in  inorganic  nature  or 
in  organized  nature. 

The  differences  are  the  condition  of  development ;  the 
mutual  exchanges,  which  are  the  consequence  of  these 
differences,  waken  and  manifest  life. 

The   greater   the   diversity  of  organs,    the  more 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  GLOBE. 


101 


active  and  the  superior  in  its  nature  is  the  life  of  the 
individual. 

The  greater  the  variety  of  individualities  and  relations 
in  a  society  of  individuals,  the  greater  also  is  the  sum  of 
life,  the  more  universal  is  the  development,  the  more 
complete,  and  of  a  more  elevated  order. 

But  it  is  necessary,  not  only  that  life  should  unfold 
itself  in  all  its  richness  by  diversity,  but  that  it  exhibit 
itself  in  its  utility,  in  its  beauty,  in  its  goodness,  by 
harmony. 

Thus  we  recognize  the  proof  of  the  old  proverb, 
(l  variety  in  unity  is  perfection."  * 

If  such  is  the  law  of  life  in  all  beings,  it  ought 
equally  to  be  the  law  of  life  of  our  entire  globe,  collec- 
tively considered,  as  a  single  individual.  It  is  the  inves- 
tigation of  this  question  I  am  going  to  attempt  this 
evening. 

The  investigation,  in  order  to  be  complete,  would  pre- 
suppose a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  origin  of  our  globe. 
But  who  is  ignorant  that  in  this  respect  we  are  yet  in 
the  world  of  suppositions?  Nevertheless,  the  brilliant 
hypotheses  of  Laplace  and  Herschell  on  the  primi- 
tive formation  of  our  planet,  and  the  results,  better 
founded,  perhaps,  geology  gives  us,  upon  the  history 
of  the  successive  changes  the  surface  has  undergone, 
permit  us,  if  I  do  not  deceive  myself,  to  detect  with 
certainty  the  great  phases  of  development  we  wish 
to  ascertain.  I  am  aware  of  the  objections  that  may 
be  made  to  both  the  one  and  the  other ;  but  it  seems 
to  me  that  they  bear  more  upon  the  details,  than  upon 
the  fundamental  facts,  and  that  in  astronomy,  as  in 
9* 


102  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

geology,  certain  great  truths  are  none  the  less  gained 
for  our  knowledge.  Now  it  is  precisely  these  general 
facts  that  proclaim,  in  a  language  perfectly  clear,  the 
reality  of  the  law  of  development  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  illustrate  by  the  preceding  examples. 

Laplace,  Herschell,  and  most  other  modern  astrono- 
mers agree  in  considering  the  assemblage  of  stars  that 
form,  at  present,  our  solar  system,  as  having  been  at 
the  first  confounded  in  one  celestial  body,  resembling 
one  of  those  mysterious  nebulae  we  see  floating  in  the 
celestial  spaces.  This  nebula  would  have  a  solid  and 
luminous  nucleus  <5r  core,  if  we  ascend  no  further 
in  this  history  than  the  point  to  which  we  are  led  by 
the  hypothesis  of  Laplace.  But  if,  by  the  help  of  the 
analogies  drawn  from  the  celestial  bodies  collectively,  we 
scale  still  higher,  with  Herschell,  towards  the  probable 
origin  of  the  world,  we  shall  be  able  to  conceive  it  as 
being  entirely  gaseous,  and  even  as  forming  a  part  of 
the  general  matter,  spread  uniformly  throughout  space. 
A  gaseous  mass,  uniform,  or  rather  formless — for  the 
property  of  gas  is  indefinite  expansion — an  obscure 
mass,  where  nothing  is  determined,  this  is  chaos,  this  is 
the  inorganic  state,  here  is  the  point  of  departure. 

But  soon  the  development  begins.  A  principle  of 
concentration, — gravitation, — counterbalances  the  un- 
limited expansion  of  the  gaseous  matter,  brings  the 
molecules  nearer  together,  and  groups  them  in  a  sphe- 
roidal mass.  This  approximation  allows  the  molecules, 
different  in  nature,  to  act  upon  each  other  according  to 
their  chemical  affinities  ;  the  process  of  life  commences, 
and  its  earliest  manifestation  is  light  and  heat,  The 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  GLOBE. 


103 


nebula  is  detached  from  the  general  mass  under  the 
form  of  a  luminous  spheroid,  traced  in  the  obscurity 
of  the  heavens.  This  is  the  first  step  in  the  process 
of  formation. 

This  gaseous  spheroid  then  resolves  itself  into  local 
agglomerations,  which,  while  concentrating  each  in 
itself,  under  the  influence  of  gravitation  and  chemical 
combinations,  separate  from  each  other  in  distinct 
spheres.  Whether  this  phenomenon  is  effected,  as 
Laplace  imagines,  by  the  successive  separation  and 
agglomeration  of  concentric  layers  of  the  solar  atmos- 
phere, or  in  virtue  of  some  organic -law,  still  unknown, 
is  of  little  importance  here.  The  fact  of  the  separation 
of  the  different  bodies  of  our  solar  system  into  a  number 
of  spheres,  planets,  and  satellites,  is  not  less  certain,  and 
constitutes  one  of  the  essential  and  incontestable  phases 
of  its  development. 

Let  us  leave  the  other  stars,  elder  and  younger  brothers 
of  the  earth,  and  follow  henceforth  the  .ulterior  changes 
our  own  globe  undergoes. 

The  gradual  concentration,  and  perhaps  certain 
changes  of  temperature,  permit  successively  the  com- 
bination of  a  multitude  of  different  bodies:  and  the 
result,  as  far  as  regards  the  general  forms,  of  all  this 
mighty  chemical  and  physical  life,  is  to  present  matter, 
no  more  under  a  single  form,  gas,  but  under  the  three 
forms  of  gaseous,  liquid,  and  solid  matter.  These  three 
elements  ranging  themselves  in  the  order  of  their  den- 
sity, the  globe  is  composed  of  a  solid  mass  at  the 
centre,  enveloped  first  by  a  liquid,  and  secondly  by  a 


104  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

gaseous  covering — the  ocean,  and  the  primeval  atmos- 
phere. 

At  the  surface,  meantime — and  it  is  the  history  of 
this  surface  which  it  concerns  us  most  to  know  for  our 
study — two  elements  only  are  in  contact,  the  air  and 
water.  The  winds  and  the  marine  currents,  owing  to 
the  unequal  distribution  of  the  solar  heat,  doubtless 
exist ;  but  the  differences  of  temperature  being  very 
inconsiderable  between  one  place  and  another,  they 
must  be  languid,  and,  besides,  they  are  perfectly  regular 
and  uniform ;  for  no  land  disturbs  the  equilibrium  of 
the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  due  to  this  general 
cause,  or  interrupts  or  breaks  the  course  of  the  currents. 
On  account  of  a  density  of  the  atmosphere  probably 
greater,  and  perhaps  of  a  higher  degree  of  heat  in  the 
globe  itself,  the  temperature  is  more  uniform  from  one 
end  of  the  globe  to  the  other.  The  rains,  if  the  state  of 
the  atmosphere  permits  their  existence,  are  useless,  for 
there  is  no  land  to  receive  them,  and  to  render  them 
subservient  to  life.  In  this  state  of  things,  organic  life 
is  nevertheless  possible.  Plants  and  animals  live  in  the 
bosom  of  the  ocean ;  but  the  earliest  fossiliferous  strata, 
which  doubtless  represent  this  epoch,  contain  none  of 
either,  except  a  few  types  but  little  varied,  and  all  be- 
longing to  the  lowest  grade  in  the  scale  of  organized 
beings.  It  is  the  dawn  of  life,  the  infancy  of  the  vege- 
table and  animal  kingdom. 

A  new  difference  is  now  added,  and  marks  a  new 
progress.  In  the  train  of  internal  movements,  or  rather, 
by  the  effect  of  a  simple  cooling  of  the  globe,  the  third 


GRADUAL  FORMATION  OF  THE  CONTINENTS.  105 

element,  the  solid,  the  earth,  quitting  the  place  its 
weight  had  assigned  to  it,  rises  from  the  bed  of  this 
boundless  ocean ;  it  lifts  itself  above  the  level  of  the 
waters,  cuts  the  surface,  puts  itself  in  contact  with  the 
atmosphere,  from  which  it  had  been  separated  by  the 
whole  thickness  of  the  primeval  ocean,  and  warms 
itself  in  the  life-giving  rays  of  the  sun. 

This  fact  of  the  appearance  of  the  firm  earth  above 
the  waters  of  the  oceans,  is  an  immense  step  in  the  rise 
and  growth  of  the  life  of  the  globe.  The  three  forms 
of  matter  react  henceforth  upon  each  other;  the  atmos- 
phere, the  seas,  and  the  lands,  absorbing  the  solar  heat 
in  an  unequal  manner,  the  ancient  equilibrium  is  de- 
stroyed; the  winds,  the  currents,  are  modified  in  their 
march ;  the  climates  are  more  varied  ;  the  rains  become 
useful,  and  henceforth  water  and  fertilize  the  land. 
Finally,  a  new  element  renders  the  appearance  of  a 
greatly  superior  organic  life  possible,  and  becomes  the 
seat  of  a  vegetation,  and  an  animal  world  of  a  very 
different  degree  of  perfection  from  that  which  existed 
before.  It  is  a  victory  gained  by  higher  life  over  matter, 
which  it  compels  to  serve  a  more  exalted  end. 

But  geology  demonstrates  that  in  the  earliest  ages  of 
the  epoch  of  organic  life  on  the  earth,  the  organic  epoch, 
as  I  would  fain  call  it,  the  firm  lands  are  reduced  to 
a  few  islands  only,  scattered  over  the  bosom  of  the 
oceans. 

u  Apparent  rari  nantes  in  gurgite  vasto." 

Everywhere  the  beginnings  are  modest.  The  place 
of  the  future  continents  is  not  yet  marked,  except  by 


106 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


a  few  scattered  stripes,  forming  here  and  there  a  few 
archipelagos.  It  is  the  insular  epoch  comprising  all  the 
earliest  ages  of  geology.  You  will  see  this  by  the  two 
maps  before  you ;  the  one  represents  Europe  at  the 
Silurian  epoch,  the  most  ancient  of  the  fossiliferous 
strata,  and  the  other,  North  America  at  the  Coal  epoch, 
which,  although  a  little  more  recent,  belongs  almost  to 
the  same  age.    (See  Figs.  2  and  3.) 


Fig.  2. 


Europe  at  the  Silurian  Epoch. 


It  is  doubtless  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  such 
maps  can  only  be  approximations.    They  indicate  sub- 


GRADUAL  FORMATION  OF  THE  CONTINENTS.  107 

stantially  those  of  the  present  dry  lands  which  already 
existed  at  that  time,  and  which  have  not  been  covered 
by  the  waters  of  the  ocean  since  those  ancient  epochs, 
except,  perhaps,  in  the  diluvian.  But  imperfect  as  are 
the  data  of  geology,  in  this  regard,  the  fact  of  the  gradual 
increase  of  the  dry  lands  is  none  the  less  placed  beyond  a 
doubt. 

The  largest  domain,  then,  above  the  surface  of  the 
water,  in  the  regions  of  the  future  continent  of  Europe, 
was  Scandinavia,  and  a  part  of  Russia.  England  and 
Scotland  are  only  marked  by  a  few  islands  along  the 
existing  western  coast ;  Ireland,  by  a  few  others,  placed 
at  the  corners  of  the  present  island.  All  France  is  repre- 
sented merely  by  an  island,  corresponding  to  the  central 
table  land  of  Auvergne,  and  by  some  strips  of  land  in 
Vendee,  in  Brittany,  and  in  Calvados.  In  Germany, 
Bohemia  forming  a  great  island,  the  Harz,  and  the 
plateau  of  the  Lower  Rhine ;  small  portions  of  the 
Vosges,  and  of  the  Black  Forest,  and  some  low  lands  on 
the  spot  occupied  by  the  Alps,  between  Toulon,  Milan 
and  Tyrol,  compose  an  archipelago  which  is  to  become 
the  centre  of  the  continent.  All  the  regions  of  the  South, 
except;  perhaps,  a  few  small  portions  of  Spain  and  of 
Turkey,  do  not  yet  exist. 

North  America,  at  the  epoch  when  the  coal  deposits 
are  formed,  is,  in  like  manner,  made  up  of  a  few  islands 
only,  analogous  to  Scandinavia,  but  less  numerous,  less 
parcelled  out  than  we  find  them  in  Europe  at  the  same 
period.  A  large  island  occupies  all  the  present  north- 
east of  the  continent,  with  the  region  of  the  Alleghanies 
and  the  Apalachian,  and  all  the  region  north-west  of  the 


108 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  forms  a  species  of  small 
continent,  in  the  interior  of  which  are  three  large  inland 
seas,  or  three  large  swamps,  where  the  plants  are  vege- 
tating that  compose  the  great  coal  deposits  of  the  present 
day.  A  similar  sea  doubtless  lay  between  Nova  Scotia 
and  Newfoundland,  bordered,  perhaps,  by  lands  which 
have  disappeared  beneath  the  waves.  All  the  great  belt 
of  low  lands  along  the  Atlantic  coast  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  including  Florida,  did  not  exist ;  the  ocean 
formed  a  deep  gulf,  running  up  the  Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi one  half  its  length. 


Fig.  3. 


America  at  the  Coal  Epoch. 


The  vast  plains  west  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Rocky 


GRADUAL  FORMATION  OF  THE  CONTINENTS.  109 

Mountains,  the  table  lands  and  the  high  snow-capped 
chains  from  California  to  the  Frozen  Ocean,  were  still 
at  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

This  augmentation  of  the  number  of  the  islands,  their 
clustering  in  archipelagos,  is  certainly  a  progress ;  there 
is  still,  however,  but  little  variety ;  the  mountains  are 
few  in  number,  and  slightly  elevated ;  the  valleys  traced 
but  indistinctly  or  not  at  all;  the  slopes  imperfectly 
determined ;  extensive  low  and  swampy  regions  indicate 
still  the  preponderance  of  the  watery  element.  A  thicker 
and  denser  atmosphere  equalizes  the  temperatures.  One 
species  of  climate  alone,  the  maritime  or  insular  climate, 
moist,  without  extremes,  reigns  over  land  and  sea.  No 
great  continents,  none  of  those  elevated  masses  which 
give  to  climate  extreme  and  variable  temperatures,  and 
the  character  of  dryness ;  none  of  all  those  varied  forms 
of  vegetation  which  show  themselves  later  under  its 
influences. 

The  organized  beings  corresponding  to  this  physical 
condition  of  the  surface  of  the  globe,  show  with  the 
utmost  clearness  this  character  of  uniformity  and  inferi- 
ority. From  one  extremity  of  the  earth  to  the  other,  the 
Trilobites  of  the  Silurian  epoch  are  found  identical  in 
their  species,  at  once  in  America,  in  Europe,  in  Africa, 
and  in  New  Holland.  The  vegetables,  accumulated  in 
the  coal  beds,  are  the  same  at  the  poles  and  the  equator. 
The  types  of  organized  beings  are  not  only  few  in 
number,  but  they  all  still  belong  to  those  which  mark 
the  inferior  degrees  of  animal  life ;  and  in  each  class, 
from  the  radiates  to  the  fishes,  the  highest  beings  of 
this  primitive  creation,  the  prevailing  forms  are  those 
10 


110  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

that  characterize  the  embryo  in  the  early  periods  of  its 
development.  Such  are  the  numerous  Crinoids,  the 
Brachiopods,  the  Trilobites ;  and,  in  the  fishes,  the 
Ganoids  of  the  Silurian  epoch.  Such  are  still  the  great 
Entomostraca  of  the  carboniferous  epoch,  and  in  the 
vegetables  the  gigantic  ferns,  the  horse-tails,  (Equise- 
tacese,)  the  palm  trees,  and  the  coniferous  trees,  the 
accumulated  remains  of  which  compose  the  immense 
beds  of  coal,  provident  nature  has  deposited  for  the 
present  and  future  wants  of  human  industry.  The 
two  first  of  these  vegetable  types  belong  to  the  inferior 
order  of  the  cryptogamous  plants ;  the  third  to  that  of  the 
monocotyledons;  the  fourth,  the  coniferous,  is  scarcely 
placed  higher. 

We  must  abstain  from  pursuing  here  in  its  details  the 
admirable  history  of  the  surface  of  our  earth,  and  of 
the  new  beings  which  successively  appear ;  this  is  the 
business  of  geology.  Let  us  say,  only,  that  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  these  results  is  the  demonstration  that 
the  diversity  of  terrestrial  forms,  the  variety  of  the  types 
and  species  of  organized  beings,  become  always  greater 
and  greater.  Every  new  revolution  is  a  new  progress  ; 
we  see  one  elevation  added  to  another ;  one  surface  after 
another  emerging  to  increase  the  existing  dry  lands :  one 
chain  of  mountains  after  another  appearing  and  binding 
together  the  hitherto  separate  islands.  The  terrestrial 
masses  enlarge  in  number  and  size ;  their  contours  are 
more  varied,  their  surfaces  more  broken  up. 

Let  us  cast  our  eyes  upon  this  chart,  representing 
Europe  at  the  commencement  of  the  Tertiary  epoch. 
Comparing  it  with  the  map  of  the  Silurian  epoch,  we 


GRADUAL  FORMATION  OF   THE  CONTINENTS.  Ill 


shall  be  able  to  form  an  idea  of  the  change  that  has  been 
wrought.    (See  Fig.  4.) 

Fig.  4. 


Europe  at  the  Tertiary  Epoch. 


Not  only  the  number  of  the  lands  has  been  multiplied, 
but  everywhere  the  primitive  islands  have  been  enlarged 
and  consolidated.  The  centre  of  the  continent,  Germany 
and  France,  constitutes  already  a  considerable  collective 
region,  unbroken  save  by  a  few  interior  basins.  The 
British  Isles  form  already  two  or  three  large  islands, 
and  the  eastern  part  of  England  only  is  wanting.  The 
three  peninsulas  of  the  south  are  clearly  traced ;  Italy 


112 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


only  is  still  exposed  along  its  coast  to  the  encroachments 
of  the  sea ;  Scandinavia  continues  to  form  a  large  soli- 
tary island ;  the  mountains  are  more  elevated ;  the  Pyre- 
nees, the  Appenines,  a  small  part  of  the  Alps,  already 
mark  out  the  great  features  of  relief  which  characterize 
the  continent. 

During  the  tertiary  epoch,  the  variety  of  physical  cir- 
cumstances is  still  increasing;  a  multitude  of  isolated 
basins,  like  those  of  Paris,  of  London,  of  Oeningen, 
assume  a  special  physiognomy,  and  have  their  separate 
faunas.  The  natural  physical  regions  are  determined, 
and  take  their  distinctive  character.  The  climates  are 
diversified  with  all  the  physical  circumstances  of  a 
country,  and  are  reflected  in  the  ever-increasing  diver- 
sity of  animal  and  vegetable  genera  and  species. 

Meantime,  this  movement  of  specialization  is  not  going 
to  extremes.  The  masses  of  earth,  while  becoming  more 
numerous,  more  various,  more  diversified  in  shape,  are 
grouping  themselves  more  and  more;  the  contours  of 
the  continents  are  getting  better  defined;  the  tertiary 
basins  are  filling  and  drying  up.  The  water  of  the  seas 
disappearing  from  the  interior,  the  atmospheric  waters, 
which  run  on  the  surface,  supply  their  place,  scoop  out 
their  valleys,  make  the  slopes  regular,  equalize  the  soil 
by  spreading  over  it  their  precious  alluvium.  The  dilu- 
vial torrents  and  the  immense  glaciers,  contemporaneous 
with  this  epoch,  complete  the  shaping  of  the  soil  and  the 
preparing  of  this  fertile  loam,  which  will  richly  repay 
the  toil  of  the  laborer.  The  earth  is  ready  to  receive  its 
lord. 

It  is  thus,  by  a  process  of  admirable  simplicity,  this 


GRADUAL  FORMATION  OF  THE  CONTINENTS.  113 

diversity  of  successive  elevations  is  combined  into  a  few 
great  units,  a  few  continents  ;  these  in  turn  are  grouped 
in  two  worlds  and  form  an  organism,  with  some  of  the 
features  of  which  we  have  already  become  acquainted. 

This  same  progress  is  confirmed  by  palaeontology, 
through  all  the  successive  ages  of  nature.  The  variety 
and  the  perfection  of  the  types  and  species  keep  pace 
with  the  increasing  diversity  of  the  lands  and  the  seas, 
and  all  the  physical  circumstances  which  serve  as  the 
basis  and  the  condition  for  the  life  of  plant  and  animal. 
In  the  insular  or  oceanic  epoch,  that  of  the  palaeozoic 
strata,  we  have  seen  animals  entirely  marine  prevailing, 
and  forming  the  inferior  and  embryonic  types  of  the  four 
divisions  of  the  animal  kingdom;  it  is  the  reign  of  the 
fishes,  if  we  take  the  vertebrates  as  the  type  of  develop- 
ment. During  the  formation  of  the  secondary  strata, 
which  I  would  call  the  maritime  epoch,  on  account 
of  the  great  land-locked  seas  that  characterize  it,  the 
huge  reptiles,  the  monstrous  Saurians  of  the  Jurassic 
waters,  are  the  prevailing  form,  and  by  their  amphibious 
habits  mark  at  once  their  more  elevated  position  in  the 
animal  scale,  and  the  increasing  force  of  the  land 
element.  The  numbers  of  living  genera  and  species  are 
much  greater  than  at  the  palaeozoic  epoch,  but  the  same 
types  are  still  uniformly  spread  over  vast  spaces. 

The  tertiary  epoch,  which  I  would  call  the  continental 
epoch,  beholds  the  appearance  of  the  superior  animals, 
the  mammifers,  the  life  of  which  is  almost  exclusively 
attached  to  the  solid  land.  The  continental  element 
triumphs ;  all  the  faunas  become  localized ;  each  country 
of  the  globe  has  its  appropriate  animals  ;  the  variety  of 
10* 


114 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


animal  and  vegetable  species  grows  almost  to  infinity. 
But  the  unity  reappears  with  the  creation  of  man,  who 
combines  in  his  physical  nature  all  the  perfections  of  the 
animal,  and  who  is  the  end  of  all  this  long  progression 
of  organized  beings. 

If  we  cast  a  glance  back  upon  the  way  we  have 
just  passed  over,  do  we  not,  gentlemen,  recognize  a 
striking  analogy  between  this  successive  formation,  first 
of  our  solar  system,  then  of  the  continents  and  the 
beings  inhabiting  them,  and  the  formation  of  the  ani- 
mal in  the  egg  ?  Is  there  not  here  the  same  law  that 
we  have  recognized  everywhere  else  ?  Do  we  not  see, 
first,  a  homogeneous  fluid,  then  the  appearance  of  ele- 
mentary organs  at  several  points ;  finally,  their  definitive 
combination  in  an  organic  whole?  Yes,  gentlemen, 
there  is  between  the  two  series  of  facts  all  the  difference 
of  organic  and  inorganic  nature ;  but  the  formula  of 
development  is  the  same. 

The  consequences  of  this  fact  are  numerous ;  let  us 
point  out  the  most  important,  those  which  are  chiefly 
useful  for  our  subject. 

1.  The  law  of  development  is  applicable  to  the  land, 
and  to  the  continental  forms. 

2.  In  this  order  of  facts,  as  elsewhere,  the  condition 
of  a  more  active  life  is  a  greater  variety  of  forms  of 
nature,  of  relative  situations ;  in  a  word,  of  more  varied 
contrasts. 

3.  Then,  other  things  being  equal,  we  may  consider, 
ill  advance,  those  continents  as  the  best  endowed,  the 
best  organized,  the  best  prepared  for  the  development  of 
human  societies,  which  present  the  most  varied  contours, 


THE  LAW  OF  CONTRASTS. 


115 


the  most  diversified  forms,  the  most  numerous  contrasts, 
and  the  best  characterized  natural  regions.  There  is 
here  the  same  relation  as  between  the  inferior  animal 
without  special  organs,  and  the  superior  animal  richly- 
furnished  with  special  organs. 

4.  The  result  of  all  these  differences  of  forms,  of 
climate,  of  vegetation,  of  all  the  internal  and  external 
contrasts,  considered  in  each  of  the  great  terrestrial 
masses,  in  each  continent,  is  to  impress  upon  every  one 
a  special  character,  a  peculiar  life,  so  that  they  appear 
as  so  many  individuals,  differing  from  each  other,  and 
designed  to  enter  into  relations  of  intercourse  and  of 
reciprocal  influence. 

5.  Considered  under  various  aspects,  in  the  point  of 
view  of  their  analogies  and  their  differences,  the  great 
terrestrial  masses  are  combined  in  groups  of  continents, 
according  to  characteristics  of  the  same  nature.  Now 
these  groups,  compared  together,  present  an  assemblage 
of  distinct  and  opposite  characters,  and  seem  to  form 
great  contrasts,  two  by  two.  Thus  the  two  continents 
of  America  have,  notwithstanding  the  immense  differ- 
ences between  them,  certain  common  characters,  bind- 
ing them  into  a  natural  group,  distinguished,  as  such, 
from  the  Old  World,  with  its  three  or  four  continents. 
It  is  the  same  with  the  three  continents  of  the  north, 
compared  with  the  three  continents  of  the  south. 

Terrestrial  life,  if  I  may  say  so,  is  then  developed 
under  the  influence  of  a  law  which  we  might  name  the 
law  of  differences  ;  and  in  the  general  phenomena  of  the 
life  of  the  globe,  all  partial  differences  being  combined 


116  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

into  grand  differences,  opposed  two  to  two,  we  may  call 
it  the  law  of  contrasts. 

It  is,  then,  under  the  form  of  great  contrasts,  the  sources 
of  a  multitude  of  vital  actions,  that  we  shall  henceforth 
consider  the  continental  masses.  Now,  let  us  point  out 
the  three  most  important  of  them. 

1.  The  contrast  of  the  continental  hemisphere,  and  the 
oceanic  hemisphere,  or  land  and  water. 

2.  Of  the  Old  World  and  of  the  New  World. 

3.  Of  the  three  northern  continents  and  the  three 
southern  continents. 

In  studying  the  globe  in  this  point  of  view,  we  shall 
see  it  under  a  new  light.  I  know  I  am  stepping  a  little 
out  of  the  beaten  paths.  This  is  not,  believe  me,  gentle- 
men, the  result  of  a  passing  momentary  glance,  but  of 
patient  studies  in  detail,  in  the  realm  of  nature  and  of 
history.  We  shall  have  the  pledge  that  it  is  not  without 
value,  when  we  trace  in  each  of  these  contrasts  all 
the  great  analogies  and  differences  we  have  thus  far 
shown,  each  in  its  place,  in  its  true  light,  and  with  the 
just  portion  of  influence  they  are  respectively  entitled* 
to  have. 

But  in  setting  forth  these  contrasts,  this  antagonism 
of  one  half  the  globe  against  the  other,  let  us  hasten  to 
say  that  there  is  nothing  hostile  in  the  conflict ;  for  it 
tends  to  life,  not  to  death.  True  victory  is  not  to  crush 
an  opponent,  but  to  make  him  a  friend.  We  suspect 
then  in  advance,  —  the  law  of  life  declares  it,  —  we  sus- 
pect, in  advance,  that  all  these  oppositions  resolve  them- 
selves into  a  grand  harmony,  wherein  each  continent 
has  its  part  to  perform,  while  all  live  at  the  same  time  a 


THE  LAW  OF  CONTRASTS. 


117 


common  life.  But  to  arrive  at  this  final  result,  nature 
alone  is  not  sufficient ;  there  is  needed  something  more 
than  a  physical  tie  between  all  these  parts  of  the  world ; 
there  is  needed  a  moral  bond ;  a  soul  is  wanting  to  this 
body,  to  set  its  organs  in  action.  Now,  it  is  man,  it 
is  human  societies,  that  alone  can  animate  the  great 
frame,  bind  together  all  the  parts,  and  render  perfect 
that  organism  which  is  the  end  and  aim  of  the  long 
procession  of  existence  upon  this  earth. 


LECTURE  V. 


The  north-east  or  continental  hemisphere,  and  the  south-west  or 
oceanic  hemisphere  —  Land  and  water  —  Differences  in  the  forms 
of  their  surfaces  —  Continental  climate  .  and  sea  climate  — .  Their 
different  influences  upon  the  vegetation  and  organized  beings  — 
The  oceanic  the  inferior  element :  the  terrestrial  element  the  superior 
—  Blending  of  the  two  natures — Transportation  of  the  waters  of 
the  ocean  into  the  continents  —  The  atmosphere  the  mediator  betiueen 
them. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

We  have  explained  the  reasons  that  have  led  us  to 
conceive  the  general  phenomena  of  the  life  of  the  globe 
as  taking  their  source  in  certain  great  contrasts,  of 
which  we  have  especially  distinguished  three :  the  con- 
tinental hemisphere  opposed  to  the  oceanic ;  the  Old 
World  to  the  New ;  the  three  northern  continents  to  the 
three  southern. 

We  shall  this  evening  commence  the  investigation  of 
the  first,  comparing  the  terrestrial  element  with  the 
oceanic  element,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  special  charac- 
ter of  both.  We  shall  then  inquire  by  what  means,  and 
to  what  extent,  they  enter  into  relations  combining  and 
modifying  reciprocally  their  nature.  We  shall  see, 
finally,  but  only  by-and-by,  the  happy  and  important 
effects  of  the  contact  and  blending  of  the  land  and  the 
water. 


LAND  AND  WATER. 


119 


In  speaking  of  the  distribution  of  the  lands  on  the 
surface  of  the  globe,  we  have  already  said  that  the  most 
characteristic  and  general  trait  in  this  respect  is  their 
prevailing  concentration  in  one  hemisphere  alone,  so  that 
the  whole  world  is  divided  into  two  great  regions;  one 
over  which  the  ocean  reigns,  the  other  which  the  terres- 
trial masses  command  by  their  number,  their  size,  and 
their  connection.  Now,  the  equator  divides  the  globe 
into  a  northern  and  a  southern  hemisphere,  very  differ- 
ent, in  this  respect,  from  each  other.  But  if,  with  Ritter, 
we  draw  a  great  circle,  passing  at  once  over  the  western 
coast  of  Peru  and  the  peninsula  of  Malacca,  at  the  south- 
ern extremity  of  Asia,  the  contrast  is  more  complete  still, 
(See  Fig.  1,)  and  the  globe  is  cut  into  a  north-eastern 
hemisphere,  (if  we  take  the  Old  World  for  the  eastern,) 
comprising  five  of  the  continents,  and  the  largest ;  and 
a  south-western  hemisphere,  where  we  see  hardly  any- 
thing but  oceans,  and,  in  the  midst,  floating  solitary, 
the  most  insular  of  the  continents,  Australia.  The 
southern  point  of  America  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  are  the  only  lands  which,  with  this  continent, 
represent  the  continental  element  in  this  oceanic  world. 
Thus,  one  of  the  sides  of  our  planet  is  the  humid,  aque- 
ous side ;  the  other  is  the  terrestrial  side. 

Let  us  trace,  meantime,  the  characters  which  distin- 
guish these  two  elements,  in  the  point  of  view  of  phys- 
ical geography,  beginning  with  the  exterior  forms. 

By  its  very  nature,  the  liquid  element  has  no  form 
peculiar  to  itself,  except  the  spherical  form  of  the  drop 
of  water.  Upon  a  globe  like  the  earth,  the  waters  of 
the  ocean  appear  to  our  eye  as  a  plain  uniform  surface, 


120 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


which  we  are  even  accustomed  to  consider  a  constant 
level,  to  which  we  may  refer,  as  to  a  fixed  plane,  all  the 
elevations  of  the  firm  earth.  Their  movable  molecules 
undergo  all  the  forms  that  are  impressed  upon  them  by 
the  solid  forms  with  which  they  come  in  contact,  not 
preserving  any  shape  after  the  contact  has  ceased.  All 
the  indentations  of  the  shores  of  the  oceans  belong,  as 
we  have  said,  to  the  continents  which  they  bathe  with 
their  waters.  On  the  surface,  none  of  those  diversities 
of  relief,  enlivening  and  varying,  to  infinity,  the  aspects 
and  the  physiognomy  of  the  continents;  none  of  those 
high  mountain  ridges,  from  the  summit  of  which  the 
eye  embraces  at  a  glance  a  portion  of  our  globe  as 
vast  as  the  range  of  vision.  We  speak  of  the  senti- 
ment of  the  infinite-  which  the  ocean  awakens  in  the 
soul  of  the  voyager ;  but  the  infinite,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, exists  only  in  our  imagination,  for  it  is  limited 
to  a  circular  surface  of  twenty  or  thirty  miles  radius. 
In  spite  of  the  proverbial  inconstancy  and  mobility  of 
this  element,  in  spite  of  the  varied  movements  of  its  bil- 
lows, originating  in  the  conflict  with  the  atmosphere,  we 
must  acknowledge,  gentlemen,  that  the  strongest  and 
most  universal  sentiment  which,  on  the  whole,  it  in- 
spires in  the  man  who  trusts  himself  to  the  waves,  is 
that  of  a  despairing  monotony.  I  wish  for  no  other 
proof  of  this  than  the  feverish  impatience  that  seizes 
upon  even  the  mariner  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  long 
calm,  and  the  thrill  of  joy  the  first  cry  of  land,  raised 
by  the  sailor  on  the  watch  at  the  mast-head,  excites 
in  the  hearts  of  all.  Thus  the  life  of  the  seaman,  so 
poetically  sung,  has  it  not  one  aspect  alone,  which  is 


LAND  AND  WATER. 


121 


nearly  the  same,  over  and  over  again,  from  one  end 
of  the  world  to  the  other  ? 

A  difference  no  less  important,  between  the  seas  and 
the  lands,  is  that  of  the  climate.  It  is  owing  substan- 
tially to  the  peculiar  physical  properties  of  the  water 
and  the  soil  of  the  continents.  Water  has  a  great 
capacity  for  heat,  but  a  feeble  conducting  power ;  it 
grows  warm  but  slowly  in  the  rays  of  the  sun.  The 
evaporation  being  considerable,  produces  a  cooling,  which 
tempers  further  the  heat  received  at  the  surface.  Finally, 
the  cooler  particles  of  the  lower  layers,  set  in  motion  by 
the  waves  and  the  currents,  incessantly  fill  the  place  of 
those  of  the  superficial  layer,  and  prevent  it  from  rising 
to  a  high  temperature. 

It  is  the  same  with  the  cooling.  The  superficial  layer 
growing  cool,  whether  by  the  absence  of  the  sun,  or  by 
contact  with  a  colder  atmosphere,  the  cooled  molecules 
become  more  heavy,  fall  lower,  and  give  way  to  the 
warmer  molecules  of  the  inferior  strata.  This  motion  is 
incessantly  repeated,  and  singularly  retards  the  process 
of  cooling. 

Thus  the  heating  and  cooling  are  less  sensible  and 
more  slow,  and  do  not  reach  the  extremes.  The  air 
itself,  by  its  perpetual  contact,  shares  in  the  uniformity 
of  temperature  which  belongs  to  the  surface  of  the 
waters,  and  which,  combined  with  the  abundance  of 
vapors  that  saturate  the  atmosphere,  gives  to  the  sea 
climate  its  true  character. 

It  is  quite  different  with  the  surface  of  the  soil,  whose 
particles  are  fixed.  The  soil  rapidly  absorbs  the  solar 
rays;  the  surface  layer  is  the  more  heated,  since  it 
11 


122  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

cannot  be  displaced,  as  in  the  water,  by  another,  and  it 
soon  attains  an  elevated  temperature.  But,  for  the  same 
reason,  the  ground  easily  loses  heat  by  radiation,  whether 
during  the  nights  or  the  clear  days ;  and  the  loss  is  so 
much  the  greater,  as  the  radiation  is  favored  by  the 
inequality  of  the  surface,  and  the  transparency  of  an 
atmosphere  more  dry  and  less  charged  with  clouds. 
The  lands  removed  from  the  influence  of  the  oceans 
have,  then,  a  climate  characterized  by  the  extremes  of 
cold  and  heat,  by  more  violent  changes,  and  a  drier 
atmosphere.  These  are  the  essential  features  of  the 
continental  climate.  If  the  former  is  constant^  the  latter 
is  excessive. 

If  we  now  observe  the  manner  in  which  sea  and 
land  are  affected  with  regard  to  their  temperature,  when 
near  each  other,  and  receiving  the  same  quantity  of 
heat  from  the  sun,  we  notice  that  the  sea  is  colder  than 
the  land  during  the  day,  and  warmer  during  the  night. 
In  the  same  way,  taking  the  different  seasons  of  the 
year,  in  summer  the  sea  is  colder  than  the  land,  in  win- 
ter it  is  warmer.  It  preserves  the  mean  temperatures, 
while  the  land  experiences  the  extremes.  It  tends  to 
soften  all  the  differences,  to  establish  uniformity  of  cli- 
mate. 

A  comparison  by  examples,  as  far  as  possible,  of  the 
climate  of  the  pelagic  islands,  subjected  to  the  influence 
of  the  surrounding  ocean,  with  the  climate  of  places  in 
the  interior  of  the  lands,  will  bring  this  difference  prom- 
inently out.  I  purposely  choose  places  situated,  two  by 
two,  in  similar  latitudes,  and  successively  in  latitudes 
more  and  more  near  to  the  tropics.    I  ask  your  per- 


LAND  AND  SEA  CLIMATE. 


123 


mission  to  cite  the  numbers  in  degrees  of  the  centigrade 
scale,  which  it  would  be  very  desirable  to  adopt  uni- 
formly, at  least  in  matters  of  science,  if  not  in  the  com- 
mon usage  of  daily  life.  Nevertheless,  for  the  sake  of 
clearness,  I  will  add  the  corresponding  value  in  degrees 
of  Fahrenheit.  The  differences,  which  are  here  the  im- 
portant thing,  are  found  in  two  separate  columns. 

Let  us  first  compare  the  climate  of  the  Faroe  islands, 
situated  in  the  midst  of  the  Atlantic,  with  that  of  Peters- 
burg, and,  if  you  please,  of  Yakutsk,  in  the  depths  of 
Siberia ;  and,  to  form  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  ther- 
mometrical  variations  each  of  these  climates  under- 
goes, let  us  establish  the  difference  between  the  mean 
temperature  of  summer  and  winter,  in  each  of  them. 
These  three  localities  are  situated  in  the  high  lati- 
tudes, between  60°  and  62°  north  lat. 


Winter. 

Summer. 

Difference 
deg-.  Cent. 

Difference, 
deg.  Fah. 

Faroe,  .  .  .  j 

Cent. 
Fahr: 

3.6 
38.5 

12.2 
54.0 

8.6 

15.5 

Petersburg,  j 

Cent. 
Fahr. 

-8.7 
16.3 

16.0 
60.8 

24.7 

44.5 

Yakutsk,  .  j 

Cent. 
Fahr. 

-38.9 
-38.0 

17.2 
63.0 

56.1 

101.0 

We  see,  by  the  rapid  increase  of  the  differences,  how 
the  variations  augment,  in  proportion  as  we  advance 
into  the  interior  of  the  continents. 

If  we  compare  the  mean  of  the  coldest  with  that  of 
the  hottest  month  in  the  same  places,  the  proportion 
becomes  still  more  sensible. 


124  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Coldest  Month. 

Hottest  Month. 

Difference, 
de?-.  Cent. 

Difference, 

(  Cent. 

Faroe.     .  .  < 

(  Fahr. 

2.7 
36.8 

12.8 
55 

10.1 

18.2 

C  Cent. 

Petersburg.  < 

/  Fahr. 

-10.3 
13.5 

16.9 
62.4 

27.2 

48.9 

C  Cent. 

Yakutsk,    .  < 

(  Fahr. 

-40.5 
-40.9 

20.3 
68.5 

60.8 

108.5 

The  extremes  of  temperature  differ  even  more,  just 
as  was  to  be  expected.  The  highest  degree  of  heat 
observed  at  Faroe  is  only  13.5  Cent.,  or  56.3  Fahr., 
and  it  freezes  but  little  there,  while  the  meteorologi- 
cal annals  of  Petersburg  indicate  heats  of  33.4.  and 
cold  of  -34.0;  that  is,  extremes  67.4  Cent,  or  121  Fahr. 
apart.  It  is  at  once  the  cold  of  the  poles,  and  the  heat 
of  the  tropics.  At  Yakutsk  the  mercury  remains  frozen 
often  for  whole  weeks,  implying  a  continued  cold  of  at 
least  40°  Fahr.  below  zero. 

Finally,  the  variations  in  the  same  day  follow  the 
same  relative  course ;  while  at  Faroe  they  are  scarcely  a 
few  degrees,  it  is  not  unusal  to  see,  at  Petersburg,  vio- 
lent changes  of  from  30°  to  40°  Fahr.  in  the  same  day. 

In  the  lat.  of  50°  to  52°  N.,  we  find,  at  Penzance,  on 
the  south-west  coast  of  England,  and  Barnaul,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Altai,  in  Siberia,  the  following  temperatures : 


Winter. 

Summer. 

Difference, 
deg-.  Cent. 

Difference, 
deg.  Fahr. 

Penzance,  .  < 

(  Fahr. 

7.0 
44.6 

15.8 
60.4 

8.8 

15.8 

C  Cent. 

Barnaul,     .  < 

(  Fahr. 

-14.1 
6.6 

16.6 
61.9 

30.7 

55.3 

LAND  AND  SEA  CLIMATE. 


125 


The  differences,  as  we  see,  are  still  considerable,  but 
less  than  between  Faroe  and  Yakutsk. 

Nearer  the  tropics,  the  climate  of  Madeira,  compared 
with  that  of  Cairo,  in  lat.  32°  and  30°  N.,  indicates  a 
similar  proportion. 


Winter. 

Summer. 

Difference, 
deg.  Cent. 

Difference, 
deg-.  Fahr. 

Madeira,  . 

r  Cent. 
^  Fahr. 

16.3 
61.3 

21.1 
70.0 

4.8 

8.7 

Cairo,  .  . 

r  Cent. 
)  Fahr. 

14.7 

58.5 

29.2 
84.6 

14.5 

26.1 

The  differences  between  the  seasons  become  less  in  the 
two  localities  respectively  ;  but  the  influence  of  the  ocean 
and  the  continent  is  always  very  marked.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  extreme  temperature,  at  Madeira  only 
from  12°  to  15°  C.  or  20°  to  27°  F.,  is  in  Egypt  31°  C. 
or  56°  F. 

In  the  Sahara,  ice  has  been  known  to  form  by  the 
intensity  of  the  radiation,  and  the  heat  to  rise,  by  the 
wind  of  the  desert,  to  the  enormous  height  of  118°  F.,  or 
48°  C. 

I  will  only  cite  one  example  more,  and  it  shall  be 
taken  from  the  coasts  of  America,  between  31°  and  32° 
N.  latitude. 


Winter. 

Summer. 

Difference, 
deg.  Cent. 

Difference, 
deg.  Fahr. 

Bermudas, 

\  Cent 

15.1 

24.0 

8.9 

16.0 

I  Fahr., 

59.2 

75.2 

Natchez,  . 

C  Cent. 

10.0 

25.4 

15.4 

27.7 

(  Fahr. 

50.0 

77.7 

11* 


126 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


If  the  climate  of  Natchez  is  less  extreme,  it  is  because 
this  place  is  too  near  the  ocean. 

We  see,  by  these  tables,  how  great  is  the  influence  of 
the  sea  upon  the  distribution  of  the  temperature  in  the 
different  seasons  of  the  year,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
day.  It  tends  to  bring  the  extremes  together,  and  to 
maintain  at  all  times  an  equality  of  temperature. 

The  sea  climate  is  then  equal,  uniform,  moist ;  the  sky 
often  cloudy  and  rainy  in  the  high  latitudes.  The  land 
climate  is  excessive,  unequal,  with  violent  changes,  dry ; 
the  sky  is  usually  clear. 

The  astronomical  climate,  caused  by  the  latitude,  is 
then  greatly  modified  by  the  presence  or  absence  of  the 
seas ;  and  the  distribution  of  heat  through  the  year,  for 
any  place  whatever,  depends  essentially  on  its  proximity 
to,  or  distance  from,  the  oceans,  and  the  relative  fre- 
quency of  the  winds  that  blow  from  them. 

Who  does  not  see  the  powerful  influence  such  dif- 
ferences in  the  climatic  conditions  must  exercise  on 
all  organized  beings,  and  on  vegetation  in  particular  ? 
While,  in  green  Ireland,  the  myrtle  grows  in  the  open  air, 
as  in  Portugal,  without  having  to  dread  the  cold  of  win- 
ter, the  summer  sun  of  this  same  climate  does  not  suc- 
ceed in  perfectly  ripening  the  plums  and  the  pears, 
which  grow  very  well  in  the  same  latitude  on  the  conti- 
nent. On  the  coasts  of  Cornwall,  shrubs  as  delicate  as  the 
laurel  or  the  camelia,  are  green  through  the  whole  year 
in  the  gardens,  in  a  latitude  at  which,  in  the  interior  of 
the  continents,  trees  the  most  tenacious  of  life  can  alone 
brave  the  rigor  of  the  winters.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
mild  climate  of  England  cannot  ripen  the  grape,  almost 


LAND  AND  SEA  CLIMATE. 


127 


under  the  same  parallel  where  grow  still  the  delicious 
wines  of  the  Rhine.  At  Astracan,  on  the  northern 
shore  of  the  Caspian,  Humboldt  says,  the  grapes  and 
fruits  of  every  kind  are  as  beautiful  and  luscious  as  in 
the  Canaries  and  in  Italy ;  the  wines  have  all  the 
fire  of  those  of  the  South  of  Europe,  while  in  the  same 
latitude,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Loire,  the  vine  hardly 
flourishes  at  all.  And  yet,  to  a  summer  capable  of  ripen- 
ing the  southern  fruits,  succeeds  a  winter  so  severe,  that 
the  vine-dresser  must  bury  the  stock  of  his  vines  several 
feet  beneath  the  earth,  if  he  would  not  see  them  killed 
every  year  by  the  cold.  Who  does  not  remember  that  a 
part  of  the  Russian  army,  despatched  for  the  conquest 
of  Khovaresmia,  perished  under  the  snows,  and  by  the 
colds  of  20°  below  zero  of  Fahrenheit,  in  a  country 
situated  under  the  same  parallel  as  the  Azores,  where 
reigns  a  perpetual  spring,  and  where,  in  the  midst  of 
winter,  the  vegetation  and  the  flowers  display  their  most 
brilliant  colors?  It  is  there  that  the  camel,  the  inhabit- 
ant of  burning  deserts,  and  the  reindeer  of  the  frozen 
regions,  meet  together,  and  nature  seems  to  have  com- 
bined the  contrasts  of  the  climate  of  the  poles  and  of 
the  tropics. 

The  oceanic  climate,  considered  in  the  islands  truly 
pelagic,  favors  the  growth  of  an  abundant  vegetation, 
with  large  and  numerous  leaves,  but  little  varied.  The 
flora  of  the  oceanic  islands,  whether  from  this  cause  or 
others  pertaining  to  the  mode  of  dissemination  of  the 
plants,  is  scanty  in  species.  The  animal  world  is  still 
more  limited;  all  the  large  animals,  the  lion,  the  ele- 
phant, the  rhinoceros,  are  wanting;  the  continental 


128 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


islands  form  an  exception,  we  conceive,  because  they  are 
much  more  closely  united  to  the  continent  than  to  the 
ocean. 

On  man  himself  the  influence  of  this  moist  and  soft 
climate  makes  itself  felt,  by  a  relaxation  of  the  tissues, 
by  a  want  of  tonic  excitement.  The  insular  Polyne- 
sians, as  those  of  Tahiti  and  others,  always  exhibit  the 
mild,  facile  and  careless  character  which  seems  to  be 
necessarily  the  result  of  such  a  climate. 

The  continental  climate  does  not  give  to  the  vegeta- 
tion an  appearance  of  such  exuberance,  but  the  variety 
of  the  soil,  the  frequency  of  alternations  of  plains,  of 
table  lands,  of  mountains,  of  valleys,  of  different  ex- 
posures, secures  to  it  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  differ- 
ent species  and  forms.  The  dryer  and  warmer  air 
concentrates  the  vegetable  saps,  elaborates  them  better, 
so  to  speak,  and  gives  them  that  strong  and  aromatic 
character  which  the  plants  of  the  oceanic  islands  rarely 
possess.  The  animal  is  more  vigorous  and  larger  there, 
the  species  more  numerous,  the  types  more  varied.  The 
lion,  the  tiger,  the  elephant,  all  the  kings  of  the  brute 
creation,  have  never  lived  elsewhere  than  under  the  sky 
of  the  continents,  or  of  the  continental  islands.  Man 
himself  is  more  animated,  more  active,  more  intelligent, 
endowed  with  a  stronger  will ;  in  a  word,  life  is  more 
intense,  and  raised  to  a  higher  degree,  by  the  variety  and 
the  movement  impressed  upon  it  by  the  contrasts  that 
form  the  very  esssence  of  the  nature  of  this  climate. 

Thus  we  have  two  opposite  worlds  revealed  to  us, 
different  in  their  form,  their  climate,  and  the  organized 
beings  belonging  to  them.    The  one,  in  the  main,  tends 


LAND  AND  WATER. 


129 


to  uniformity,  the  other  to  variety.  But  please  to  remark, 
gentlemen,  they  are  not  only  different  from  each  other, 
but  they  stand,  moreover,  in  the  relation  of  superior 
and  inferior. 

The  terrestrial  element  has  for  its  portion  an  infinite 
variety  of  the  forms  of  relief,  of  climate ;  it  is  the  seat 
of  a  more  varied  life ;  the  birthplace  and  the  habitual 
abode  of  all  the  superior  beings,  from  the  vegetable  up  to 
man.  The  ocean  has  uniformity  for  its  characteristic  ; 
it  is  the  domain  of  the  inferior  beings,  from  the  polype 
to  the  fish  and  the  amphibious  animal.  Thus  we  have 
seen,  in  the  geological  development  of  the  surface  of  our 
globe,  the  oceanic  element  first  prevailing,  as  the  less 
perfect.  The  oceanic  epoch  is  the  embryonic  epoch  ;  the 
insular  epoch,  analogous  to  the  present  oceanic  world 
and  its  climate,  is  the  second  step  in  the  physical  life  of 
the  globe;  the  continental  epoch,  or  the  present  epoch, 
alone  carries  it  to  the  highest  degree  of  development. 

And  yet  the  ocean  much  surpasses  the  continents  in 
extent ;  it  occupies  more  than  two  thirds  of  the  surface 
of  the  globe.  But  this  even  is  a  sign  of  inferiority ;  for 
mass  and  number,  as  Ave  see  in  all  the  kingdoms  of 
nature,  never  belong  to  the  superior  being. 

At  present,  gentlemen,  we  know,  in  their  characters 
and  in  their  contrast,  the  continental  hemisphere  and  the 
oceanic  hemisphere;  the  land  and  the  water.  Two 
different  elements  are  confronted ;  they  cannot  remain 
indifferent;  they  must  act  and  react,  and  impart  their 
wealth  to  each  other.  We  are  so  much  in  the  habit 
of  seeing  these  two  elements,  the  dry  and  the  moist, 
pervading  and  penetrating  one  another,  that  we  have 


130 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


some  difficulty  in  figuring  to  ourselves  a  state  of  things 
wherein  the  two  spheres  would  be  total  strangers.  We 
forget  that  it  is  to  the  ocean  we  owe  those  beneficent 
rains,  which  refresh  and  vivify  all  nature ;  those  springs, 
which  quench  our  thirst;  those  streams  and  rivers, 
which  fertilize  our  valleys  and  our  plains,  and  serve 
as  highways  for  the  commerce  of  the  nations;  those 
lakes,  which  spread  so  many  charms  over  the  countries 
encompassing  their  borders ;  we  scarcely  dream  that  if 
the  ocean  ceased  to  send  to  the  continents  the  supply  of 
water  necessary  to  their  daily  life,  the  parched  and  arid 
earth  would  soon  see  all  the  organized  beings  that  live 
upon  its  surface  perish  in  pain  and  anguish.  Desert  and 
death  would  succeed  to  life,  and  at  a  single  stroke  the 
globe  would  return  to  the  embryonic  state  of  the  tril- 
obites,  by  the  extinction  of  the  superior  classes  of  beings. 

In  fact,  all  the  continental  waters  come  to  us  from 
the  ocean.  If  they  are  fresh  and  sweet,  it  is  because 
they  have  passed  through  the  great  laboratory  of  nature, 
by  a  simple  process  of  distillation,  which  is  the  first  fact 
that  we  ought  to  point  out. 

The  sun,  the  great  awakener  of  life,  the  king  of 
nature,  shoots  his  burning  rays  every  day  athwart  the 
face  of  the  waters.  He  causes  the  invisible  vapors  to 
rise,  which,  lighter  than  the  air  itself,  unceasingly  tend 
to  soar  into  the  atmosphere,  filling  it  and  constituting 
within  it  another  aqueous  atmosphere.  In  their  ascend- 
ing movement,  they  encounter  the  colder  layers  of  the 
higher  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  which  perform  the  part 
of  coolers.  They  are  condensed  in  vesicles,  that  be- 
come visible  under  the  form  of  clouds  and  fogs.  Then, 


THE  ATMOSPHERE  THE  MEDIATOR. 


131 


borne  along  by  the  winds,  whether  invisible  still,  or  in 
the  state  of  clouds,  th!?y  spread  themselves  over  the  con- 
tinents, and  fall  in  abundant  rains  upon  the  ground 
which  they  fertilize.  All  the  portion  of  the  atmospheric 
waters  not  expended  for  the  benefit  of  the  plants  and  of 
the  animals,  nor  carried  off  anew  into  the  atmosphere 
by  evaporation,  returns  by  the  springs  and  rivers  to  the 
ocean,  whence  it  came. 

Thus  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  by  this  ever  renewed 
rotation,  spread  themselves  over  the  lands;  the  two 
elements  combine,  and  become  a  source  of  life,  far  richer 
and  much  superior  to  what  either  could  have  produced 
by  its  own  forces  alone. 

But  we  see  the  earth  and  the  water,  the  continents 
and  the  oceans,  touch  each  other  only  at  their  margins 
A  more  intimate  action  upon  each  other  is  not  possible, 
except  by  means  of  the  most  mobile  of  the  elements, 
the  atmosphere,  performing,  in  nature,  the  part  of  medi- 
ator. The  winds  are  the  instruments  of  this  impor- 
tant work,  the  bearers  of  this  wondrous  water  which 
renovates  unceasingly  the  face  of  the  main-lands,  and 
sustains  their  beauty.  Unhappy  the  countries  to  which 
they  cannot  come,  still  charged  with  some  parts  of  their 
precious  burthen.  The  inhabitants  of  the  desert  can 
alone  tell  us  what  price  we  should  set  upon  the  smallest 
portion  of  this  treasure. 

To  study  the  distribution  of  the  rains  and  of  the 
moisture  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  is  to  &>tudy  the 
course  of  the  winds  which  are  their  carriers ;  to  this  sub- 
ject, then,  we  shall  turn  our  attention. 


LECTURE  VI. 


The  study  of  the  distribution  of  the  rains  supposes  that  of  the  winds  — 
Difference  of  temperature  the  principal  cause  of  the  winds  —  Theory 
of  the  general  winds  —  The  winds  of  the  tropical  regions  —  Trade 
wind  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  —  Trade  wind  of  the  Atlantic  —  The 
monsoons  of  the  Indian  seas  —  The  winds  of  the  temperate  regions  — 
Two  general  currents;  the  return  trade  wind,  or  equatorial  wind, 
and  the  polar  currents  —  The  conflicts  of  the  two,  and  the  variable 
winds  —  Lateral  displacement  of  the  currents,  and  their  influence  upon 
the  temperature,  the  productions  of  the  soil,  and  commerce  —  The  law 
of  the  rotation  of  the  winds  —  The  atmospheric  ivater  falling  back  in 
rain  —  Circumstances  favorable  to  the  precipitation  of  vapors  —  The 
rains  of  the  tropical  zone —  The  rains  in  the  region  of  the  monsoons  — 
Annual  quantity  of  the  rain  water  under  the  tropics  —  Distribution 
and  annual  quantity  of  the  rain  in  the  temperate  regions. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : — 

After  having  ascertained  the  characters  of  the  two 
hemispheres,  the  oceanic  and  continental,  we  have  asked 
ourselves  how  they  acted  upon  each  other,  how  the 
moisture  of  the  oceanic  climate  spread  over  the  conti- 
nents to  fertilize  them.  We  have  seen  that  the  atmos- 
phere alone  could  perform  this  part  of  mediator,  and 
that  the  vapors  fly  on  the  wings  of  the  winds  to  the 
very  heart  of  the  continents.  To  study  the  distribution 
of  the  rain  waters  as  one  of  the  most  essential  features 
of  the  climate  of  continents  is,  as  we  said,  to  engage  in 
studying  first  the  movements  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the 


THE  WINDS. 


133 


general  system  of  the  winds.  This  double  study  will 
be  the  more  important,  as  it  is  intimately  connected 
with  the  variations  of  the  temperature,  so  that  it  will  be 
almost  sufficient  to  give  us  an  idea  of  the  principal  kinds 
of  climates  presented  by  the  different  countries  of  the 
globe. 

If  we  knew  only  the  winds  that  blow  in  our  tem- 
perate regions,  we  should  almost  despair  of  arriving  at 
the  knowledge  of  any  law  regulating  their  course. 
What  is  more  fickle,  more  capricious,  than  the  winds, 
which  suddenly  change  their  direction,  their  force  and 
temperature,  without  apparent  cause,  and  inaccessible 
to  our  means  of  observation  ?  They  are  the  symbols  of 
changeableness  itself.  But  it  is  not  so  when  we  enter 
upon  the  equatorial  seas,  where,  from  one  end  of  the 
year  to  the  other,  a  gentle  and  regular  wind  blows  from 
the  east  to  the  west  with  great  constancy,  and  carries 
slowly  and  without  violence  the  ships  from  the  coasts  of 
the  Old  World  to  those  of  the  New ;  these  are  the  trade 
winds.  We  know  the  astonishment  and  alarm  of  the 
companions  of  Columbus  on  noticing  these  winds,  the 
constant  direction  of  which  towards  the  west  seemed  to 
render  their  return  impossible.  In  the  East  Indian  seas, 
the  winds  blow  six  months  from  the  north-east,  and  six 
months  from  the  south-west.  These  are  the  monsoons. 
This  regularity  of  the  tropical  winds  indicates  the  ex- 
istence of  permanent  causes,  of  which  it  is,  perhaps, 
possible  to  give  some  account.  At  any  rate,  the  phe- 
nomenon takes  a  certain  course,  annually  repeated,  of 
which  we  ought  to  take  cognizance;  for,  in  case  of 
need,  the  knowledge  of  the  flow  of  the  atmospheric 
12 


134 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


currents,  independently  of  their  causes,  may  be  sufficient 
for  our  purpose. 

The  winds  are  the  cop  sequence  of  a  disturbance  of 
equilibrium  in  the  layers  of  the  atmosphere ;  and  the 
tendency  of  their  motion  *is  to  restore  the  equilibrium 
Y/hich  has  been  destroyed ;  as  soon  as  that  is  accom- 
plished the  movement  ceases,  and  everything  settles  into 
a  calm. 

The  more  we  study  the  causes  of  these  disturbances 
of  the  atmospherical  equilibrium,  and  of  the  winds,  the 
more  we  see  that  they  are  reduced,  essentially,  almost 
entirely,  to  difference  of  temperature  between  neighbor- 
ing places.  Here,  again,  the  law  of  differences  is  the 
principle  of  movement,  the  condition  of  life. 

One  of  the  chief  conditions  of  the  equilibrium  of 
the  atmosphere  is,  that  any  level  layer  of  the  atmosphere 
should  have  the  same  density  at  all  points.  If  this 
condition  is  not  fulfilled,  the  denser  portions  flow  under 
the  less  dense,  while  the  lighter  rise  to  the  top.  Now, 
this  takes  place  when  the  different  parts  of  the  layer  are 
unequally  heated.  At  the  point  of  greater  warmth  the 
air  expands,  becomes  lighter;  then,  pressed  by  the 
neighboring  layers,  which  have  remained  colder  and 
heavier,  it  rises  into  the  higher.  The  result  of  this 
process  is  an  ascending  current,  and  lateral  currents 
rushing  from  all  sides  towards  the  spot  where  the  tem- 
perature is  more  elevated.  Let  us  take  an  example  in 
nature,  and  see  what  passes  on  an  island  alone  in  the 
midst  of  the  ocean. 

Let  us  remember  that  the  land  is  heated  more  readily 
han  the  sea.    In  proportion  as  the  sun  rises  above  the 


THE  WINDS. 


135 


horizon,  the  island  becomes  warmer  than  the  neighbor- 
ing sea.  Their  respective  atmospheres  participate  in 
these  unequal  temperatures,  the  fresh  air  of  the  sea 
rushes  from  all  directions  under  the  form  of  a  sea 
breeze,  which  makes  itself  felt  along  the  whole  coast, 
and  the  warmer  and  lighter  air  of  the  island  will  ascend 
into  the  atmosphere.  During  the  night,  it  is  the  reverse. 
The  island  loses  heat  by  radiation,  and  cools  quicker 
than  the  sea.  Its  atmosphere,  having  become  heavier, 
runs  into  that  of  the  sea,  under  the  form  of  a  land 
breeze,  and  this  interchange  lasts  until  the  temperature, 
and  consequently  the  density,  of  the  two  atmospheres 
have  again  become  the  same.  This  is  the  phenomenon 
observed  almost  daily  on  nearly  all  the  seaboards. 

What  takes  place  here  on  a  small  scale  in  the  space 
of  a  day,  passes  on  a  great  scale  between  an  entire  con- 
tinent and  the  ocean  from  one  season  to  another,  be- 
tween the  tropical  regions  and  the  temperate  and  polar 
regions  in  a  permanent  manner.  Southern  Africa  is 
fiercely  heated  by  the  rays  of  a  summer  sun,  while  the 
seas  of  India  and  Asia  experience  the  low  temperature 
of  the  winter.  The  temperature  of  the  tropics  is  almost 
always  the  same,  and  constantly  higher  than  that  of  the 
rest  of  the  globe.  To  each  of  these  differences  of  tem- 
perature, unequal  in  duration  and  amount,  particular 
atmospheric  currents,  which  are  their  consequence, 
correspond;  to  the  difference  of  temperature  between 
day  and  night,  the  diurnal  breezes,  whether  along  the 
coasts  or  in  the  interior  of  the  continents,  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  ;  to  the  difference  of  temperature  between 
the  extreme  seasons,  the  monsoons,  which  one  might 


136 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


call  the  season  breezes  ;  to  the  difference  of  temperature 
between  the  tropics  and  the  poles,  the  trade  winds, 
which  are  the  great  annual  breeze,  and  the  constancy 
of  which  is  only  the  expression  of  the  permanent 
inequality  of  the  distribution  of  solar  heat  between  the 
great  atmospherical  regions  of  our  globe. 

A  moment's  reflection  will  enable  us  to  see  that  these 
differences  of  temperature,  setting  the  whole  atmos- 
phere in  motion,  at  last  connect  themselves  essentially 
with  the  geographical  forms  of  our  globe.  It  is  the 
spherical  form  which  causes  the  unequal  distribution 
of  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  gives  us  the  great  zones  of 
temperature  of  the  astronomical  climate,  the  torrid, 
temperate,  and  frozen  zones.  All  the  modifications 
of  the  solar  climate  must  be  referred  principally  to  the 
geographical  forms  of  the  surface,  to  the  distribution 
and  to  the  relative  situation  of  the  continents  and  the 
seas. 

The  general  or  trade  winds  are  the  consequence  of 
the  general  form  of  the  globe;  and  their  direction,  as 
we  shall  see  by-and-by,  is  given  by  its  rotatory  motion. 
The  monsoons  and  the  breezes  depend  on  the  form  and 
the  relative  situation  of  the  lands  and  the  seas,  which 
govern  their  intensity  and  direction.  The  variable 
winds  are  due  to  the  same  causes,  and  to  the  conflict 
between  the  general  currents.  The  primary  importance 
of  the  geographical  forms,  which  is  here  revealed  at  the 
first  glance,  will  become  still  more  evident  in  the  course 
of  our  study. 

We  shall  commence  our  investigation  with  the  trade 


TRADE  WINDS. 


137 


winds,  which  may  be  called  primitive,  of  first  importance, 
and  which  embrace,  so  to  speak,  the  entire  atmosphere. 
In  order  to  unfold  this  subject,  I  shall  present  the  theory 
generally  received  by  the  most  eminent  meteorologists ; 
that  proposed  by  Halley  and  Hadley.  Not  that  it  is 
perhaps  unassailable  in  the  details,  for  we  encounter 
many  difficulties  when  we  undertake  to  account  by 
physical  laws  for  the  manner  in  which  these  great 
compensations  are  effected ;  but  the  foundations  of  the 
hypothesis  seem  beyond  a  doubt,  and  the  course  of  the 
phenomenon  it  teaches  us  to  understand  is  here  of  the 
greatest  importance. 

Let  us  consider  the  entire  atmosphere  as  only  one  of 
those  horizontal  layers  of  air  of  which  we  have  recently 
spoken.  We  see  that  one  of  the  principal  conditions  of 
equilibrium  of  the  molecules  does  not  exist,  since  the 
different  parts  of  it  are  unequally  heated.  The  regions 
near  the  equator  have  a  high  temperature,  and  the  heat 
goes  on  gradually  diminishing  in  proportion  as  we 
advance  towards  the  poles.  The  atmosphere  of  the 
tropical  zone  is  more  dilated,  and  consequently  lighter, 
than  those  of  the  temperate  and  polar  regions.  The 
height  of  the  barometer  at  the  level  of  the  ocean,  which 
measures  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere,  is  in  fact  less  at 
the  equator  than  in  the  temperate  regions.  We  have 
noticed  with  surprise  that  the  column  of  mercury,  cor- 
rected for  the  effect  of  the  gravity,  keeps  at  a  mean 
of  758  millimetres  in  the  tropics,  while  it  is  761  in  the 
middle  latitudes.  This  difference  of  three  millimetres 
seems  to  give  the  measure  of  the  force  which  incessantly 
12* 


138  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

impels  the  air  of  the  temperate  regions  towards  the  region 
of  the  equator. 

What  is  the  consequence  of  this  dynamic  state  of  the 
atmosphere  ?  The  denser  air  of  the  colder  regions  presses 
that  of  the  hot  on  two  sides,  the  north  and  the  south ; 
the  tropical  atmosphere  rises,  and  here  two  lower  cur- 
rents are  established,  from  the  poles  to  the  equator,  and 
two  superior  currents,  which  conduct  the  air  of  the 
equator  towards  the  poles,  to  commence  again  the  same 
rotation.  We  ought,  then,  to  find,  in  the  northern  hem- 
isphere, a  general  wind  coming  from  the  north,  and  in 
the  southern  hemisphere,  a  wind  coming  from  the  south. 
But  the  motion  of  the  rotation  of  the  earth  from  the  west 
to  the  east  exercises  an  influence  upon  the  direction 
of  these  currents,  causing  them  to  deviate  from  their 
original  direction.  The  speed  of  rotation,  almost 
nothing  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  poles,  becomes 
greater  for  any  place  in  proportion  to  its  proximity  to 
the  equator.  The  masses  of  air  rushing  towards  the 
equator  have  then  an  acquired  speed  less  than  that  of 
the  regions  towards  which  they  are  directing  themselves. 
At  each  step  they  are  obliged  to  assume  a  greater  rapidity 
of  rotation ;  but  as,  in  virtue  of  the  law  of  inertia,  a 
certain  time  is  necessary  for  this  to  take  place,  they  find 
themselves  at  every  step  a  little  behindhand,  that  is,  they 
are  a  little  further  towards  the  west  than  would  be  the 
case  without  this  circumstance.  These  successive  re- 
tardations, accumulating,  change  little  by  little  the  direc- 
tion of  the  current  from  north  to  south  of  the  northern 
hemisphere,  into  a  south-west  direction  ;  and  the  direction 
of  the  current  from  south  to  north  of  the  southern  hemi- 


TRADE  WINDS. 


139 


sphere,  into  a  north-west  current.  These  two  general 
currents,  of  north-east  and  south-east,  to  call  them, 
according  to  the  usage,  by  the  places  whence  they 
come,  encountering  each  other  in  the  tropical  zone,  com- 
bine together,  and  there  results  a  general  current  from 
east  to  west,  the  great  trade  wind.  The  region  where 
the  two  currents  meet  is  in  a  kind  of  equilibrium,  and  it 
is  marked  by  a  zone  of  calms. 

The  same  cause  makes  the  upper  currents,  setting 
from  the  equator  towards  the  poles,  swerve,  but  in  the 
opposite  way.  They  arrive  successively  in  the  higher 
latitudes,  with  a  velocity  of  rotation  greater  than 
they  find  there,  and  are  always  a  little  in  advance 
of  the  earth's  motion  in  each  place;  that  is,  they  swerve 
always  more  and  more  to  the  east.  There  will  then 
result  a  current  bearing  to  the  north-east,  or  a  south-west 
wind,  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  a  current  bearing 
to  the  south-east,  or  a  north-west  wind,  in  the  southern 
hemisphere. 

The  general  course  of  the  winds  would  doubtless  show 
itself  in  all  its  regularity  if  the  surface  of  the  globe  pre- 
sented only  the  uniform  surface  of  the  oceans.  But  the 
presence  of  the  continents  and  their  disposition  modify 
the  trade  winds  in  many  ways,  and  make  the  question 
very  complicated.  Let  us  examine  the  principal  of  these 
modifications,  beginning  with  the  trade  wind  of  the 
tropical  regions.  In  this  zone  the  regularity  is  greater 
and  the  disturbing  causes  are  easier  to  detect. 

The  winds  of  the  tropical  regions  might  be  reduced  to 
the  great  equatorial  trade  wind,  blowing  regularly  from 
east  to  west  all  round  the  globe,  if  the  continents  did 


140 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


not  bar  its  passage  and  disturb  its  course  at  numerous 
points.  The  continental  lands  impede  its  march,  and 
cut  it,  so  to  speak,  into  several  pieces.  The  trade 
wind  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  arrested  by  Australia ;  that 
of  the  Lidian  Ocean  by  Africa ;  that  of  the  Atlantic  is 
stopped  by  America.  We  shall  then  rapidly  examine 
the  courses  of  the  trade  wind  in  each  of  these  oceans ; 
for  it  is  essentially  at  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  where  it 
reigns  supreme,  that  we  can  learn  its  true  character. 

The  trade  wind  of  the  Pacific  begins  to  make  itself  felt 
at  a  certain  distance  from  the  western  coasts  of  America, 
and  blows  almost  without  interruption  as  far  as  the 
coasts  of  Australia.  The  north-east  current  is  regular 
between  2°  and  25°  north  latitude,  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  southern  and  northern  limits.  But  in  the 
summer  it  rises  a  little  further  towards  the  north.  It 
was  this  constant  and  gentle  wind  that  carried  the  first 
navigator,  Magalhaens,  whose  ship  made  the  voyage 
round  the  world,  across  this  vast  ocean,  and  that  gave 
it  the  name  of  Pacific,  which  has  been  preserved  to  the 
present  day.  It  is  by  this  line  still,  that  the  Spanish 
galleons,  laden  with  the  gold  of  the  New  World,  accom- 
plished, during  more  than  two  centuries,  their  peaceful 
voyages  from  Acapulco  to  Manilla,  sheltered  at  once 
from  the  tempests  and  from  the  attacks  of  the  nations 
envious  of  so  much  wealth.  The  south-east  current  is 
as  regular  south  of  the  equator,  but  the  limits  are  less 
known;  it  is  found  as  far  as  the  21°  of  south  latitude. 

The  region  of  calms  is  found  in  the  space  comprised 
between  the  2°  north  latitude  and  the  2°  south,  between 
the  two  currents  at  their  meeting.    Here  the  ascending 


TRADE  WINDS. 


141 


current  seems  to  neutralize  the  horizontal;  the  air  is 
in  a  sort  of  factitious  equilibrium,  that  the  least  acci- 
dent violently  disturbs.  Thus,  to  a  dead  calm,  suc- 
ceed those  sudden  tempests,  those  violent  squalls,  those 
whirlwinds,  those  tornadoes,  as  the  Spaniards  call  them, 
which  are  the  terror  of  navigators.  Thunder  storms, 
accompanied  by  showers,  are  of  almost  daily  occurrence. 

The  trade  wind  of  the  Atlantic  is  already  modified  by 
the  position  of  this  ocean  lying  between  continents  nearer 
to  each  other.  It  is,  as  it  were,  transported  bodily  several 
degrees  towards  the  north.  The  northern  limit  of  the 
north-east  current  is  precisely  fixed  by  the  numerous  nav- 
igators who  traverse  these  seas ;  it  commences  between 
2S°  and  30°  north  latitude.  Its  southern  limit  is  about 
8°  north  latitude.  The  region  of  calms  occupies,  on 
the  average,  the  space  comprised  between  the  3°  and 
8°  of  north  latitude ;  but  its  position  varies  with  the 
seasons ;  in  August  it  extends  from  3°  to  13°  north  lati- 
tude ;  in  February,  from  1°  to  6°  north  latitude.  The 
south-east  current  always  blows,  then,  beyond  the  equa- 
tor to  the  north. 

Humboldt  attributes,  apparently  with  reason,  this 
anomaly,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  direction  of  the  coasts 
of  South  America,  which  favors  the  extension  of  the 
south-east  trade  wind,  and  of  the  warm  waters  of  the 
great  equatorial  current  towards  the  north ;  and,  on  the 
other,  to  the  cooling  influence  of  the  high  mountains  of 
the  continent,  in  the  regions  of  the  equator.  The  first 
of  these  causes  tends  to  heat  the  sea  of  the  Antilles ;  the 
second,  to  lower  the  temperature  of  the  southern  continent. 
The  result  of  this  difference  must  be  to  determine  a  cur- 


142 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


rent  of  air  from  the  south,  removing  the  limit  of  the 
north-east  trade  wind  further  north.  The  thermal  equa- 
tor, or  the  line  of  the  greatest  mean  heat,  passes,  in  fact, 
through  the  south  of  the  sea  of  the  Antilles. 

The  existence  of  the  upper  trade  wind,  coming  from 
the  west,  or  of  the  return  trade  wind,  which  has  often 
been  doubted,  seems  to  be  proved  in  this  ocean  by  two 
facts,  often  cited  and  very  conclusive.  The  volcano  of 
the  island  of  St.  Vincent,  belonging  to  the  lesser  Antilles, 
in  one  of  its  eruptions  hurled  a  column  of  volcanic  cinders 
to  a  great  height  in  the  atmosphere ;  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Barbadoes,  situated  east  of  St.  Vincent,  saw,  with 
astonishment,  the  cinders  falling  in  abundance  upon 
their  island.  The  25th  of  February,  1835,  the  volcano 
of  Cosignina,  in  Guatemala,  threw  into  the  air  such  a 
quantity  of  cinders,  that  the  light  of  the  sun  was  dark- 
ened during  five  days  ;  a  few  days  after,  they  were  seen 
to  cover  the  streets  of  Kingston,  in  Jamaica,  situated 
north-east  of  Guatemala.  In  these  two  cases  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  cinders  had  reached  the  region  of  the  upper 
trade  wind,  and  had  been  carried  by  it  from  west  to  east, 
in  the  opposite  direction  to  the  lower  trade  wind.  At 
the  summit  of  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe,  most  travellers  have 
found  a  west  wind,  even  when  the  north-east  trade  wind 
prevailed  on  the  seaboard. 

The  winds  of  the  Indian  Ocean  experience  still  greater 
perturbations  than  those  of  the  other  two  oceans  of  the 
tropics.  If  I  have  elsewhere  called  the  Pacific  the  most 
oceanic  of  the  oceans,  the  Atlantic  the  most  maritime,  I 
will  call  the  Indian  Ocean  the  most  mediterranean.  It 


THE  MONSOONS. 


143 


is,  in  reality,  only  a  half  ocean,  a  great  gulf,  surrounded 
on  the  sides  by  huge  continental  masses ;  the  mighty 
Asia,  with  its  peninsulas  and  its  table  lands,  on  the 
north,  Africa  on  the  west,  Australia  on  the  east.  Asia 
prevents  the  oceanic  trade  wind  of  the  north-east  from 
arriving  there,  and  the  influence  of  the  lands  and  of  the 
vast  plateaus  remains  greatly  preponderant.  Thus  the 
movements  of  the  atmosphere  depend  upon  the  unequal 
heating  of  the  neighboring,  continents  during  the  extreme 
seasons  of  summer  and  winter,  which  are  opposite  in  the 
continents  situated  in  the  north  and  in  the  south.  The 
eastern  trade  wind  in  this  way  changes  into  a  sort  of 
double  semi-annual  breeze,  blowing  regularly  six  months 
in  one  direction,  and  six  months  in  another ;  this  is  called 
monsoon,  from  the  Arabic  word  moussin,  signifying  sea- 
son. It  will  be  easy  to  understand  this  effect,  if  you  call 
to  mind  what  we  have  said  of  the  land  and  sea  breezes, 
that  spring  up  on  the  islands  and  along  the  sea-shores. 

While  Africa,  south  of  the  equator,  receives  the  ver- 
tical rays  of  the  southern  summer  sun  in  December, 
January,  and  February,  Southern  Asia  on  the  north  of 
the  equator,  and  the  neighboring  seas,  are  feeling  the 
low  temperatures  of  winter.  The  air  rushes  in  from  the 
colder  regions  of  the  Indies  and  of  Upper  Asia  towards 
the  warmer  regions  of  Southern  Africa,  and  the  trade 
wind  is  transformed  into  a  north-easter,  which  blows  as 
long  as  this  difference  of  temperature  lasts.  It  is  for 
India  the  winter  or  north-east  monsoon.  The  reverse 
takes  place  when  India  and  Asia  are  heated  by  the 
burning  sun  of  the  northern  summer,  and  when  Africa 
is  cooled  by  the  southern  winter.   The  air  blows  towards 


144  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

the  places  where  the  temperature  is  more  elevated ;  it 
is  for  India  the  summer  or  south-west  monsoon. 

Hence,  in  place  of  a  constant  current  setting  from 
east  to  west,  the  relative  position  of  the  lands,  combined 
with  the  action  of  the  earth's  rotation,  gives  occasion  to 
two  periodical  winds ;  the  monsoon  of  the  south-west, 
blowing  from  April  to  October,  during  the  northern  sum- 
mer, and  the  north-east  monsoon,  blowing  from  October 
to  April,  during  the  southern,  summer.  In  the  southern 
part  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  which  is  not  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  lands,  the  south-east  trade  wind  blows  quite 
regularly  through  the  whole  year. 

The  transition  from  one  monsoon  to  another,  depend- 
ing upon  the  course  of  the  sun,  does  not  occur  at  the 
same  period  in  places  situated  under  different  latitudes ; 
but  the  approach  of  this  critical  season  is  always 
heralded  by  variable  winds,  succeeded  by  intervals  of 
calm,  and  by  furious  tempests  and  whirlwinds,  proving 
a  general  disturbance  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  phenomenon  of  the  monsoon,  or  the  change  of 
winds  according  to  the  seasons,  takes  place  in  like  man- 
ner between  the  Indies  and  New  Holland.  But  it  is 
less  regular  and  less  marked  than  the  Indo-African 
system  we  have  just  described.  The  seas  of  Southern 
China  and  the  great  archipelago  of  Sunda  and  of  the 
Moluccas,  by  their  position  feeling  at  the  same  time  the 
influence  of  the  trade  wind  of  the  great  ocean,  and  of 
the  double  system  of  the  monsoons  of  the  Indies  and 
Australia,  it  is  easily  conceived  that  we  must  seek  in  this 
circumstance  the  cause  of  the  tempests  and  typhoons 
which  desolate  this  sea  more  than  any  other  upon  the 
surface  of  the  globe. 


WINDS  OF  THE  TEMPERATE  REGIONS. 


145 


We  see  that  the  great  trade  wind  does  not  exhibit  its 
normal  manner,  except  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  far  from  the 
land.  It  is  driven  towards  the  north  in  the  valley  of  the 
Atlantic,  or  is  entirely  broken  up  in  the  Indian  Ocean. 
The  influence  of  the  lands  cannot  be  mistaken. 

Let  us  pass  to  the  winds  of  the  temperate  regions  and 
of  the  middle  latitudes. 

Here,  as  we  have  said,  the  regularity  disappears  by 
degrees ;  the  secondary  influence  assumes  more  impor- 
tance still ;  it  is  the  theatre  of  the  incessant  conflict 
between  the  polar  winds  and  those  of  the  tropics.  They 
blow  alternately,  without  any  well  established  rule,  and 
pass,  often  abruptly  and  without  transition,  from  one 
point  of  the  horizon  to  another.  If  the  equatorial 
regions  are  those  of  the  constant  and  perio  ileal  winds, 
the  temperate  regions  are  those  of  the  variable  winds. 

Nevertheless,  when  we  compare  the  number  of  times 
the  winds  blow  from  each  quarter  of  the  horizon 
during  the  course  of  a  year,  we  discover  that  in  the 
northern  hemisphere  two  directions  tend  to  prevail  over 
all  the  others,  and  those  are  the  winds  from  the  west 
and  south-west,  and  from  the  east  and  south-east.  It 
is  known  that  in  the  northern  Atlantic  the  west  winds 
prevail  to  such  a  degree  that  the  average  passage  of  the 
packet  ships  from  America  to  Europe  is  only  from 
twenty  to  twenty-three  days,  while  from  Europe  to 
America  it  is  from  thirty-five  to  forty. 

•  It  is  generally  agreed  to  consider  these  winds  from  the 
south-west  as  having  their  origin  in  the  return  of  the  air 
of  the  tropics.  The  upper  trade  wind  cools  in  the  high 
13 


146  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

regions  of  the  atmosphere,  and  descends  again  to  the  sur- 
face, reaching  it  about  30°  N.  latitude,  or  even  still  further 
north,  during  the  summer.  In  winter,  the  limit  where 
the  winds  from  the  north-east  and  south-west  change 
place,  is  marked  by  variable  winds  and  calms,  which 
the  navigators,  coming  from  the  north,  ordinarily  en- 
counter before  entering  the  region  of  the  trade  winds. 
The  long  Atlantic  valley  is  the  grand  route  of  the  winds 
of  the  equator ;  they  spread  themselves  there  without 
obstacle,  beyond  the  influence  of  the  lands  ;  and  the  line 
of  the  coasts  of  America,  as  the  direction  of  the  ocean 
itself,  coincides  with  that  impressed  on  them  by  the 
earth's  rotation.  They  advance  as  far  as  the  high  lati- 
tudes of  Norway,  near  the  polar  regions,  and  bathe  all 
the  western  coasts  of  Europe  in  their  soft  and  humid  air. 

The  northward  inflection  of  the  lines  of  mean  equal 
heat,  or  of  the  isothermal  lines,  which  you  see  traced 
on  the  map  before  you,  (See  plate  i.,)  shows  us  at  a 
glance  the  considerable  influence  of  the  winds  upon  the 
temperature  of  the  Atlantic,  and  of  the  western  coasts 
of  the  Old  World.  It  is  such,  that  in  Europe  some  of 
the  cereal  grains  grow  even  at  Cape  North  in  the  lati- 
tude of  Boothia  Felix,  about  the  coldest  point  ascertained 
on  the  globe  ;  and  that  the  brilliant  cities  of  Stockholm 
and  of  Petersburg  flourish  under  the  parallel  of  the 
regions  of  eternal  ice  in  Northern  Labrador. 

What  I  have  just  said  of  the  return  of  the  trade  wind 
in  the  Atlantic,  is  true  again  for  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
winds  of  the  west  and  south-west  prevail  in  the  middle 
latitudes;  they  strike  the  western  coasts  of  North  Amer- 
ica and  carry  thither  the  soft  temperature  belonging 


WINDS  OF  THE  TEMPERATE  REGIONS. 


147 


to  them.  Sitka,  in  Russian  America,  at  57°  N.  lat,  has 
the  same  average  temperature  with  the  shores  of  Lake 
Ontario,  44°  N.  lat,  but  much  milder  winters ;  the  valley 
of  the  Columbia,  in  Oregon,  already  displays  the  most 
verdant  prairies ;  while,  under  the  same  latitude,  Lake 
Superior  presents  only  snow  and  ice,  and  the  whole 
desolate  aspect  of  an  arctic  region. 

It  is,  then,  to  the  normal  direction  of  the  return  trade 
wind  that  we  must  refer  the  well-known  phenomenon  of 
the  higher  temperature  of  the  western  shoies  of  the  con- 
tinents of  the  two  worlds,  compared  to  that  of  their 
eastern  sea-boards.  But,  for  the  same  reason,  this  dif- 
ference, though  very  great  in  the  high  latitudes,  disap- 
pears by  degrees  as  we  approach  the  tropics. 

But  the  air  of  the  polar  countries,  tending  continually 
to  flow  towards  the  warmer  regions,  gives  birth  to  cur- 
rents, the  normal  direction  of  which  is  from  north-east  to 
south-west,  from  the  cause  we  have  already  explained. 
These  north-easterly  currents  follow,  by  preference,  the 
path  of  the  continents,  as  the  currents  of  the  equator 
follow  that  of  the  ocean.  They  have  the  cold  tempera- 
ture of  the  places  whence  they  come,  and  unless  high 
mountains  interpose  an  obstacle,  they  refresh  the  conti- 
nental regions  for  a  great  distance.  Cast  a  glance  upon 
this  map  of  Europe,  where  the  lines  of  equal  mean  tem- 
perature are  traced,  (See  plate  i.,)  and  you  will  see  them 
strongly  bending  towards  the  south  opposite  to  the  broad 
passage  opened  to  the  polar  winds  between  the  Caucasus 
and  the  mountains  of  Transylvania;  that  is,  all  the 
borders  of  the  Black  Sea,  the  northern  coast  of  Asia 
Minor,  the  eastern  coast  of  Greece,  owe  to  them  a  lower 


148 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


temperature  than  that  found  at  the  same  latitude  in  the 
neighboring  countries,  sheltered  against  the  attacks  of 
this  icy  Boreas,  by  high  chains  of  mountains. 

The  polar  winds  play  equally  a  very  important  part 
in  the  climate  of  North  America.  No  other  continent 
offers  them  a  more  open  path  from  one  end  to  the  other 
of  its  extent.  From  the  borders  of  the  Frozen  Ocean, 
to  the  subtropical  regions  as  far  as  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
no  chain  of  mountains  opposes  their  unobstructed 
sweep ;  for  they  are  all  directed  from  the  north  to  the 
south.  Almost  no  spot  is  sheltered  from  their  sudden 
and  cold  attacks.  Nevertheless,  owing  to  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  Atlantic  coasts,  retreating  on  the  north-east, 
and  the  south-west  direction  taken  by  all  the  cur- 
rents of  the  north,  the  west  and  the  south-west  bear 
the  first  shock.  These  polar  winds,  it  seems,  strike 
obliquely  against  the  mass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  run 
along  their  slopes,  and,  being  guided  and  reflected  by 
this  high  chain,  descend  under  the  form  of  a  north-west 
wind  into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  accompanied  by 
cold  and  storms,  and  advance  towards  the  Atlantic 
coast.  In  this  route  they  encounter  the  return  trade 
wind,  the  south-west  current,  which  they  take  in  flank ; 
and  I  incline  to  think,  that  to  this  conflict  are  owing 
some  of  those  tempestuous  storms,  revolving  from  east 
to  west,  the  course  of  which  has  been  so  well  described 
by  Mr.  Redfield.  Others,  as  the  same  learned  man  has 
triumphantly  demonstrated,  have  their  origin  in  the 
tropical  seas. 

If  this  conflict  of  the  two  currents  of  air  often  com- 
mences at  the  south  of  the  continent,  and  seems  to  ad- 


WINDS  OF   THE  TEMPERATE  REGIOxNS.  149 

vance  towards  the  north,  it  is  by  reason  of  its  form  and 
of  the  disposition  of  its  shores,  approaching  each  other 
towards  the  south  and  greatly  diverging  towards  the 
north.  The  western  coast  and  the  Rocky  Mountains 
trend  thus  to  the  north-west;  the  Atlantic  coast  to  the 
north-east.  Now,  supposing  the  mass  of  air,  turned 
aside  by  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  advance  from  west 
to  east  on  a  line  nearly  parallel  to  this  chain,  it  first 
strikes  the  Atlantic  region  in  the  south,  then  suc- 
cessively reaches  points  more  and  more  towards  the 
north. 

This  conflict  of  polar  and  equatorial  winds,  opposite 
in  character  and  direction,  gives  to  our  climate  one 
of  its  most  characteristic  features,  that  changeableness, 
that  extreme  variety  of  temperature,  of  dryness,  and  of 
moisture,  of  fair  weather  and  of  foul ;  that  uncertainty 
of  the  seasons  which  always  keeps  the  merchant  and 
the  farmer  in  anxious  suspense,  between  the  hope  of  a 
good  harvest  and  the  fear  of  a  dearth. 

Not  only  are  the  variations  in  the  same  year  consider- 
able, but  they  are  still  more  so  from  one  year  to  another. 
Tlie  system  of  these  currents  oscillates  from  east  to 
west,  and  changes  place.  The  polar  winds  will  prevail 
in  a  country,  and  will  endanger  the  crops  by  the  pro- 
longed dryness  of  their  atmosphere ;  while  further  east 
or  west  the  trade  wind  will  spread  fertility  by  its  benefi- 
cent rains.  Or  the  opposite  :  the  south  winds  acquire 
such  a  preponderance,  that  the  harvests  perish  by  the 
moisture,  while  at  a  somewhat  greater  distance,  on  the 
limit  of  the  same  wind,  nature  lavishes  all  her  treasures 
upon  the  laborer.  It  has  been  remarked  that  a  mild 
13* 


150  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

winter  in  Europe  corresponds  frequently  to  a  severe 
winter  in  America  and  Asia :  while  the  mildness  of  the 
winter  in  America  affords  a  presumption  of  a  colder 
winter  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The  years 
1816  and  1817  were  marked,  as  is  known,  in  the  history 
of  Europe,  by  a  general  famine  and  distress.  The  wet 
was  such  that  the  harvests  failed  entirely.  But  the 
south-west  wind,  which  blew  without  cessation  over 
the  western  part  of  the  continent,  and  drenched  it  in 
its  vapors,  did  not  extend  beyond  Poland ;  and  it  was 
the  South  of  Russia  whose  corn  supported  famished 
Europe  for  many  long  months.  Then  was  revealed 
the  commercial  importance  of  these  countries,  hitherto 
unknown,  and  constantly  increasing  since.  Who  does 
not  still  remember  the  immense  impulse  given  to  the 
commerce  between  Europe  and  America,  by  the  drought 
of  1846,  which  damaged  the  corn  crop  in  Europe, 
while  America  had  an  abundant  harvest?  These 
examples  alone  tell  us  the  important  part  played  in  the 
life  of  the  nations  by  those  variations  of  the  atmospheric 
currents  belonging  to  our  temperate  countries. 

In  the  middle  latitudes  of  the  northern  hemisphere, 
there  are,  properly  speaking,  only  two  normal  winds, 
that  of  the  north-east  and  that  of  the  south-west.  The 
winds  blowing  in  other  directions,  are  local  winds,  or 
transition  winds,  from  one  of  the  general  currents  to  the 
other.  Professor  Dove  has  shown,  that,  in  Europe  at 
least,  these  winds  succeed  each  other  in  an  order  always 
the  same,  which  he  has  called  the  law  of  rotation  of 
the  winds.  This  will  be  easily  understood  if  we 
-emember  that,  in  advancing  along  their  course,  the 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  RAINS. 


151 


south-west  wind  tends  always  to  become  more  west, 
and  the  north-east  more  and  more  east;  we  shall  see 
that  the  result  of  this  disposition  ought  to  be,  wherevei 
they  meet  each  other  and  change  places,  a  rotation 
from  west  by  north  to  east,  and  from  east  by  south  to 
west.  In  the  place  of  the  conflict  of  the  two  currents, 
the  wind  will  then  blow  successively  from  these  differ- 
ent regions,  and  in  this  order,  until  it  is  established 
in  the  direction  of  that  one  of  the  currents  which  has 
overpowered  the  other.  But  no  one  of  these  transition 
winds  blows  for  any  great  length  of  time.  In  the 
southern  hemisphere  the  order  of  succession  is  the 
reverse. 

The  course  of  the  winds  being  explained,  it  will  be 
easy  to  understand  the  distribution  of  the  rains  on  the 
surface  of  the  globe. 

The  winds  sweep  in  all  directions,  as  we  have  just 
seen ;  they  carry  with  them  into  the  places  where  they 
go,  the  temperature  and  the  moisture  of  the  places 
whence  they  come.  A  sea  breeze  will  be  always  moist 
and  relatively  temperate  ;  a  land  wind,  dry  and  extreme, 
whether  in  cold  or  in  heat.  The  first,  ordinarily,  is  the 
herald  of  rain;  the  second,  fair  weather.  It  is  the 
atmosphere  that  brings  into  connection  the  most  dis- 
tant countries  of  the  globe,  with  regard  to  temperature 
and  humidity,  and  softens  all  the  differences  by  blending 
opposite  and  extreme  characters. 

We  have  seen  how  the  atmosphere  is  charged  with 
the  vapors  of  the  ocean,  but  Ave  have  not  stated  how  it 
happens  that  these  vapors  are  condensed  anew,  to  fall 


152  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY.  * 

again  in  rain.  This  depends  chiefly  on  a  property  of 
the  air,  of  which  we  must  say  a  word. 

A  determinate  volume  of  air,  a  cubic  foot,  for  ex- 
ample, at  a  given  temperature,  has  the  property  of 
receiving  a  certain  quantity  of  vapor,  of  water  in  an 
invisible  state,  or,  as  we  call  it,  humidity.  When  it 
contains  all  the  humidity  it  is  capable  of  receiving,  it  is 
£aid  to  be  saturated.  If  you  increase  the  temperature, 
it  will  be  able  to  hold  more;  if,  on  the  contrary,  you 
lower  the  temperature,  you  diminish  its  capacity  for 
vapor,  and,  in  the  given  case,  a  part  of  the  vapor  would 
be  condensed  and  deposited  in  small  drops  of  rain  along 
the  outside  of  the  yessel.  The  moist  air  here  is  like  a 
sponge  filled  with  water ;  reduce  its  volume  by  pressure, 
there  will  run  out  a  certain  quantity  of  water ;  in  the 
air  laden  with  moisture  the  diminution  of  the  tempera- 
ture takes  the  place  of  pressure. 

We  can  easily  conceive  the  application  of  this  prin- 
ciple in  meteorology. 

A  warm  and  moist  wind,  the  south-west  of  the 
Atlantic,  for  example,  setting  from  the  tropics,  comes 
in  contact  with  the  colder  air  of  the  temperate  regions ; 
its  temperature  is  lowered ;  it  can  no  longer  contain  as 
great  a  quantity  of  vapor.  A  portion  of  its  humidity 
is  immediately  condensed  into  clouds,  then  falls  in  rain. 

Or  the  opposite ;  a  wind  charged  with  clouds  arrives 
in  a  warmer  and  dryer  air;  comes,  for  example,  from 
the  Mediterranean  to  the  Sahara,  as  is  the  case  during 
three  fourths  of  the  year ;  the  burning  air  of  the  desert, 
having  a  much  greater  capacity  for  vapor,  dissipates 
instantly  all  these  clouds,  that  break  up,  vanish,  and 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  RAINS. 


153 


disappoint  the  excited  expectation  of  the  traveller,  who 
hoped  for  refreshing  rains. 

Do  the  moist  winds  encounter  an  elevated  obstacle,  a 
high  chain  of  mountains,  a  plateau  ?  Forced  to  ascend 
their  slopes,  high  into  the  atmosphere,  they  find  there  a 
colder  air,  which  condenses  their  vapors,  and  the  rain 
flows  down  along  the  sides.  The  wind  passes  over  to 
the  other  side  of  the  chain ;  it  arrives  dry  and  cold, 
deprived  of  all  its  moisture,  without  clouds.  The  same 
wind  thus  brings  rain  on  one  side,  and  fair  weather  on 
the  other.  This  is  what  happens  every  day  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  Scandinavian  mountains. 

It  is  even  possible  that  an  ascending  current,  if  very 
violent,  may  hurry  the  abundant  vapors  of  the  lower 
layers  to  the  more  elevated  layers  of  the  atmosphere. 
The  vapors  are  afterwards  condensed  there,  and  fall 
back  in  torrents  of  rain.  Such  at  least  is  the  explanation 
Humboldt  gives  of  the  rains  of  the  tropics. 

Aided  by  these  preliminary  remarks,  we  are  enabled 
to  account  for  the  general  phenomena  regarding  the 
distribution  of  rains,  which  I  desire  to  explain  to  you. 
We  will  therefore  devote  the  remainder  of  our  time  this 
evening  to  following  out  the  general  march  of  this 
phenomenon  in  the  tropical  regions  and  the  temperate 
zones. 

The  temperature,  the  winds,  and  the  rain,  having  an 
intimate  connection  each  with  the  others,  and  playing 
alternately  the  part  of  cause  and  effect,  the  earth,  in  the 
point  of  view  now  under  consideration,  is  divided,  as  in 
the  point  of  view  of  temperature  and  winds,  into  two 
great  zones  —  the  one,  that  of  periodical  rains,  or  of  the 


154  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

tropical  regions ;  —  the  other,  that  of  continuous  rains,  or 
of  the  temperate  regions. 

In  the  equatorial  regions,  where  the  course  of  tempera- 
tures and  winds  is  regular,  that  of  the  rains  is  equally 
so;  and  instead  of  seasons  of  temperature,  which  are 
there  unknown,  the  inhabitants  draw  the  distinguishing 
line  between  the  dry  and  the  rainy  season. 

Whenever  the  trade  wind  blows  with  its  wonted  regu- 
larity, the  sky  preserves  a  constant  serenity,  and  a  deep 
azure  blue,  especially  when  the  sun  is  in  the  opposite 
hemisphere ;  the  air  is  dry,  and  the  atmosphere  cloudless. 
But  in  proportion  as  the  sun  approaches  the  zenith,  the 
trade  wind  grows  irregular,  the  sky  assumes  a  whitish 
tint,  it  becomes  overcast,  clouds  appear,  sudden  showers, 
accompanied  with  fierce  storms,  ensue.  They  occur' 
more  and  more  frequently,  and  turn  at  length  into  floods 
of  rain,  inundating  the  earth  with  torrents  of  water. 
The  air  is  at  this  time  so  damp  that  the  inhabitants  are 
in  an  incessant  vapor  bath.  The  heat  is  heavy  and 
stifling ;  the  body  becomes  dull  and  enervated ;  this  is 
the  period  of  those  endemical  fevers  that  destroy  so  great 
a  number  of  the  settlers  who  have  come  from  the  temper- 
ate zones.  But  vegetation  puts  on  a  new  freshness  and 
vigor ;  the  desert  itself  becomes  animated,  and  is  over- 
spread for  a  few  months  with  enchanting  verdure,  which 
furnishes  pasture  to  thousands  of  animals.  Nevertheless, 
ere  long,  the  sun,  in  his  annual  progress,  advances  to 
pour  down  his  vertical  rays  upon  other  places ;  the  rains 
diminish,  the  atmosphere  becomes  once  more  serene,  the 
trade  wind  resumes  its  regularity,  and  the  heaven  shuts 
its  windows  once  again  until  the  following  season. 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  RAINS. 


155 


Such  is  the  normal  course  of  the  tropical  rains.  They 
fall  everywhere  during  the  passage  of  the  sun  through 
the  zenith.  The  heat  is  then  so  violent  that  the  ascend- 
ing current  neutralizes  the  horizontal  trade  wind.  It 
hurries  the  vapors  to  the  heights  of  the  atmosphere,  and 
the  upper  limit  of  the  trade  wind,  where  they  are  con- 
densed and  fall  back  in  a  deluge  of  rain.  Now,  as  the 
sun  passes  and  repasses  from  one  tropic  to  the  other,  it 
follows  that  there  is,  in  most  intermediate  places,  a  two- 
fold rainy  season,  the  two  periods  of  rain  being  more  or 
less  closely  connected  in  point  of  time. 

In  India  the  course  of  the  rain  is  not  so  regular ;  it 
depends  entirely  on  the  monsoons.  The  western  coast 
of  Deccan,  the  coast  of  Malabar,  has  the  season  of  the 
rains  during  the  monsoon  of  the  south-west,  which  brings 
thither  the  vapors  of  the  ocean;  that  is,  during  the 
northern  summer.  It  has  the  dry  season  during  the 
monsoon  of  the  north-east.  During  the  winter,  the  mon- 
soon of  the  south-west  ascends  the  slopes  of  the  western 
Ghauts,  and  causes,  in  the  heights,  violent  storms  and 
very  abundant  rains.  Along  the  coast  of  Coromandel, 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  the  north-east  monsoon  which  con- 
ducts the  rains,  with  the  vapors  of  the  Sea  of  Bengal, 
and  the  south-west  monsoon  brings  the  dryness.  These 
two  coasts  of  the  peninsula  have  then  their  seasons 
reversed.  One  has  the  dry  weather  when  the  other  has 
rain,  and  reciprocally.  The  table  land  of  Deccan  par- 
takes of  the  two  characters ;  the  fall  of  water  is  more 
variable,  and  there  are  often  two  periods  of  abundant 
rains. 


156  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

We  see  here  that  the  relative  position  of  the  lands  and 
the  seas  regulates  the  seasons. 

The  quantity  of  water  that  falls  from  the  atmosphere 
in  the  tropical  regions  during  some  months  is  enormous, 
if  we  compare  it  with  that  which  we  are  accustomed  to 
see  wetting  the  soil  of  our  own  countries.  It  has  been 
calculated,  that,  on  the  average,  there  fall  annually  in 
the  tropics  of  the  Old  World  77  inches  of  water,  and  115 
m  tropical  America.  The  mean  for  the  equatorial  region 
would  be  96  inches. 

But  the  annual  quantity  of  rain  received  in  some  local- 
ities, and  under  the  influence  of  certain  circumstances,  is 
sometimes  much  more  considerable.  At  Paramaribo,  in 
Dutch  Guiana,  it  falls  to  the  amount  of  229  inches  of 
water,  or  19  feet.  At  St.  Louis  de  Maranhao,  in  Brazil, 
276  inches  have  been  received,  or  23  feet.  But  the 
greatest  quantity  ever  observed  is  that  of  Mahabaleshwar, 
in  the  western  Ghauts,  south  of  Bombay,  at  the  height 
of  4,200  feet ;  it  rises  to  the  enormous  number  of  302 
inches.  A  layer  of  25  feet  of  water  would  have  been 
formed  by  the  rain  waters,  if  they  had  not  gradually 
run  off. 

These  results  are  the  more  astonishing,  as  all  this 
water  falls  in  the  space  of  only  a  few  months,  and,  so 
to  speak,  at  once.  It  has  been  seen  to  fall  at  Cayenne 
21  inches  in  a  single  day.  This  is  nearly  as  much  as 
falls  during  the  whole  year  in  the  northern  latitudes. 
This  is  the  reason  why,  notwithstanding  the  abundance 
of  the  rains,  the  number  of  clear  days  is  much  more 
considerable  than  in  our  climates.  Even  during  the 
rainy  season,  the  sun  shows  himself  nearly  every  day, 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  RAINS. 


157 


and  many  days  pass  without  a  single  drop  of  water 
falling  from  the  atmosphere. 

We  may  conceive  the  prodigious  effect  such  violent 
showers  must  produce  upon  the  rivers.  Who  does  not 
now  understand  the  secret  of  the  overflowings  of  the 
Nile,  once  so  mysterious,  which  are  due  to  the  cir- 
cumstance that  the  region  of  its  sources  receives  the 
tropical  rains.? 

Floods  of  forty  feet  rise  and  upwards  are  frequent  at 
this  season  in  the  great  rivers  of  South  America;  the 
llanos  of  the  Orinoco  are  changed  into  an  inland  sea. 
The  Amazon  inundates  to  a  vast  distance  the  plains  it 
flows  through.  The  Paraguay  forms  lagoons,  which, 
like  those  of  Xarayes,  are  more  than  three  hundred 
miles  in  length,  and  ooze  away  during  the  dry  season. 

The  quantity  of  water  contained  in  the  tropical  atmos- 
phere in  the  condition  of  transparent  gas,  is  always 
considerable.  It  is  in  proportion  to  the  heat,  which, 
being  always  very  great,  augments  its  capacity  to  a  very 
high  degree.  Even  under  the  most  serene  sky,  the  air 
is  still  abundantly  provided  with  it.  It  is  this  invisible 
water  which,  being  absorbed  by  the  plants,  and  taken 
up  by  their  large  leaves,  produces  the  vigorous  vegeta- 
tion, and  causes  the  eternal  verdure  that  fills  us  with 
astonishment,  under  a  sky  devoid  of  rain,  and  cloudless 
during  more  than  half  the  year ;  while  in  our  climates, 
from  the  failure  of  rain  for  a  few  weeks  only,  we  see  all 
verdure  languish,  and  all  the  flowers  perish  for  the  lack 
of  moisture. 

The  distribution  of  rains  in  the  temperate  regions 
offers  a  perfect  contrast  to  that  of  the  tropics.  Here, 
14 


158  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

throughout  the  whole  year,  the  earth  is  watered  by  the 
rains  of  heaven,  although  sometimes  irregularly.  But 
these  are  variable,  as  are  the  winds  and  the  tempera- 
ture, and  secondary  circumstances  have  much  influence 
over  them. 

The  further  we  recede  from  the  tropics,  the  more  do 
we  find  that  this  periodical  character  disappears.  But 
we  have  few  established  facts  as  to  the  mode  in  which 
the  transition  is  made  from  one  region  to  another.  North 
of  the  tropics  we  find  winter  rains,  which  doubtless  are 
caused  by  the  meeting  of  the  upper  trade  winds  with 
the  north-easters.  The  strife  of  these  gives  birth  to 
heavy  rain  storms.  It  is  so  at  Madeira  and  Lisbon. 
Yet  further  north,  Italy,  and  some  portion  of  the  Med- 
iterranean, have  spring  and  autumnal  rains,  which  Dove 
attributes  to  the  transit  of  the  south-west  trade  wind 
before  and  after  the  solstice.  In  Germany,  according  to 
the  same  authority,  the  same  cause  produces  frequent 
rains  at  the  period  of  the  solstice,  or  summer  rains, 
denoting  the  highest  point  attained  by  the  trade  wind 
in  those  latitudes  at  the  greatest  declination  of  the  sun 
towards  the  north. 

But  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  general  character 
of  the  rains  of  those  regions,  their  periods,  and  their 
frequency,  appear  especially  to  depend  on  a  thousand 
geographical  features  which  influence  them  greatly. 

The  quantity  of  water  held  by  the  atmosphere  of  the 
temperate  regions  is  much  smaller  than  that  in  the  air 
of  the  tropics.  The  vegetation,  therefore,  cannot  endure 
the  want  of  rain  for  any  length  of  time,  as  I  have 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  RAINS. 


159 


observed,  and  the  quantity  of  rain  water  falling  in 
them  is  also  greatly  inferior. 

The  mean  is  34  inches  in  the  Old  World,  and  39  in 
temperate  America,  or  35  for  the  whole  zone.  There 
are  causes,  however,  to  be  pointed  out  hereafter,  which 
produce  the  fall  of  twice  and  even  thrice  that  quantity 
at  certain  points.  The  number  of  fair  days  is  also  far 
smaller.  But  if  these  fruitful  showers  are  not  granted 
to  us  with  the  same  prodigality  as  in  the  tropical  regions, 
they  are,  at  least,  better  distributed  throughout  the  year 
in  a  manner  more  equal,  more  economical,  and  morf 
advantageous  to  vegetation  and  the  requirements  of  all 
organized  beings. 


LECTURE  VII. 


Modifications  of  the  general  laws  of  distribution  of  the  rains  —  De- 
crease of  the  quantity  of  rain  waters  and  of  rainy  days,  from  the 
seaboard  towards  the  inlands  —  Numerous  exceptions  and  their 
causes  —  Influence  of  the  mountains  and  the  table  lands  in  the  two 
worlds  —  Distribution  of  rain  in  South  America ;  in  North  America ; 
in  Africa ;  in  Europe ;  in  Asia  ;  in  Australia  —  Special  hygromet- 
rical  character  of  each  continent  —  Difference  between  the  Old  and  the 
New  World,  corresponding  to  the  nature  of  their  relief  —  Mixture 
of  the  continental  and  the  oceanic  element  —  Influence  on  organized, 
beings  —  Superiority  of  the  zone  of  contact,  or  the  maritime  zone. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

The  investigation  we  attempted  to  make  in  the  last 
lecture,  has  convinced  us  of  the  intimate  connection 
existing  between  the  temperatures  and  the  winds,  and 
between  both  and  the  distribution  of  rain  over  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  In  this  last  point  of  view  we 
have  recognized  the  existence  of  a  zone  of  'periodical 
rains,  corresponding  to  the  torrid  regions  of  the  equa- 
tor, wherein  the  rains  fall  in  abundance,  and  within  the 
space  of  a  few  months ;  and  of  two  zones  of  continuous 
rains  corresponding  to  the  temperate  and  cold  regions,  in 
which  they  fall  in  smaller  quantity,  and  are  more  uni- 
formly distributed  through  the  entire  course  of  the  year. 
It  remains  for  us,  this  evening,  to  give  some  account  of 
the  numerous  modifications  these  general  laws  are  made 
to  undergo,  by  the  extent  of  the  continents,  the  forms 
of  their  relief,  and  their  position  relatively  to  the 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  RAINS. 


161 


general  winds  which  are  the  dispensers  of  the  rain 
waters. 

The  map  before  us,  on  which  it  has  been  attempted 
to  express,  by  deeper  or  lighter  tints,  the  relative  abun- 
dance of  the  rain  that  falls  in  each  region  of  the  globe, 
indicates  these  zones  in  a  very  clear  manner;  it  will 
serve  further  to  illustrate  what  remains  to  be  said  on 
this  subject.    (See  plate  iv.) 

The  winds  of  the  ocean  striking  the  coasts  of  the  con- 
tinents, and  moistening  them  with  their  waters,  pene- 
trate equally  into  the  interior,  transport  thither  the 
vapors  with  which  they  are  charged,  and  spread  life  and 
freshness  on  their  path.  But  in  proportion  as  they 
advance  on  their  continental  journey,  they  become  more 
and  more  scant  and  sparing  of  these  beneficent  waters  : 
their  provision  is  exhausted,  and  if  the  way  is  too 
long,  if  the  continent  is  too  extended,  they  arrive  at 
its  centre,  as  arid  and  parched  as  a  land  wind. 

This  first  result  appears  so  natural,  that  it  seems 
almost  useless  to  exhibit  it  by  figures.  Nevertheless,  we 
will  let  direct  observation  speak,  that  the  fact  may  not  rest 
upon  assertion  alone.  Here  is  the  quantity  of  rain  water 
received  annually  in  the  different  parts  of  the  same  con- 
tinent, more  or  less  remote  from  the  seaboard.  I  add 
also  the  number  of  rainy  days,  to  complete  these  obser- 
vations. As  far  as  possible,  I  choose  countries  situated 
under  similar  latitudes,  in  order  to  render  them  capable 
of  a  more  rigorous  comparison  in  this  point  of  view  :  for, 
otherwise,  the  quantity  of  rain  water  diminishing  in 
proportion  to  the  distance  from  the  torrid  regions  of  the 
equator,  it  would  be  easy  to  attribute  incorrectly  to  the 
14* 


162 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


distance  from  the  seas  a  difference  that  might  be  only 
the  effect  of  a  position  more  or  less  towards  the  north. 

The  mean  quantity  of  rain  received  during  a  year, 
and  the  number  of  rainy  days,  are  as  follows,  in  the 
countries  situated  between  45°  and  50°  N.  lat.  of  the  Old 
World: 


We  see  that,  in  leaving  the  coasts  for  the  interior  of 
the  continents,  there  is  a  gradual  diminution  of  the 
quantity  of  rain  and  of  rainy  days.  If  we  penetrate  to 
the  centre  of  the  vast  continent  of  Asia,  we  find  the 
dryness  there  almost  absolute — a  desert. 

In  North  America,  the  observations  are  as  yet  so  few 
and  so  recent,  that  it  is  impossible  to  deduce  from  them 
very  exact  averages.  Besides,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  this 
continent  being  exposed  at  the  same  time  to  the  winds 
of  the  Atlantic  on  the  east,  and  to  those  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  on  the  south,  receives  rain  waters  from  both 
directions.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  middle  region, 
situated  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  In  this  way  the 
decrease,  owing  to  the  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  is  dis- 
guised by  the  additional  rain  water  brought  thither  by 
the  winds  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  These  various  circum- 
stances tend  in  a  singular  degree  to  render  the  distribu- 


Depth  of  Rain 
in  inches. 


Number  of 
Rainy  Days. 


British  Islands,  

Western  France,  

Eastern  France,  

Central  and  North  Germany, 

Hungary,  

Eastern  Russia,  Kasan,  .  . 
Siberia,  Yakoutsk,  .... 


156 
152 
147 
150 
111 
90 
60 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  KAINS. 


163 


tion  of  the  rains  more  uniform  in  this  part  of  the  conti- 
nent. Nevertheless,  the  following  numbers  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  influence  of  the  continental  position  is 
not  annihilated. 

The  annual  quantity  of  rain  water  between  41°  and 
43°  north  lat.  is,  at 


Depth  of  Rain 
in  inches. 

38 
36 
30 

Again,  between  lat.  38°  and  40°  north. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.;  and  Lambertville,  N.  J.,    .  . 

Depth  of  Rain 
in  inches. 

45 
41 
32 

We  may  say,  then,9  that,  in  general,  a  country  is  the 
better  watered,  the  nearer  it  is  to  the  seaboard ;  and, 
from  moist  and  verdant  Ireland  to  the  desert  of  Gobi, 
we  find  all  possible  gradations  between  the  extremes  of 
moisture  and  aridity. 

This  indubitable  general  law,  however,  undergoes 
numerous  modifications,  which  infinitely  diversify  the 
nature  of  the  climates  in  regard  to  their  wetness  or 
drought,  causing  the  most  surprising  anomalies. 

On  the  shore  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  on  the  coast  of 
Venezuela,  is  situated  the  city  of  Cumana,  which  has 
become  celebrated  in  the  annals  of  science  by  the 


164 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


researches  made  there  by  Humboldt.  That  city,  in  the 
midst  of  the  regions  of  the  tropics,  where  the  rains  are 
so  abundant,  in  spite  of  its  maritime  position,  receives 
only  8  inches  of  water,  while  very  near  it,  a  little  further 
south-east,  in  Guyana,  there  is  a  fall  of  more  than  200 
inches. 

In  this  same  South  America,  so  plentifully  watered, 
we  see  on  the  opposite  side,  south-west  of  the  Andes  of 
Bolivia,  a  long  and  narrow  band  destitute  of  rain, 
stretching  several  hundred  miles  along  the  coast;  it  is 
the  desert  of  Atacama.  Not  a  drop  of  water  comes  to 
refresh  this  thirsty  land,  though  lying  upon  the  sea- 
coast,  and  under  the  same  latitude  as  the  plains  of 
Upper  Paraguay,  which  is  inundated  with  rain. 

The  plateaus  of  Upper  California  are  nearer  the  sea 
than  the  centre  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and, 
nevertheless,  they  are  dry  and  parched,  while  the  latter 
is  fertilized  by  copious  rains. 

Here  are  causes,  then,  which  disturb  the  general  law, 
or  rather  which  modify  it  in  favor  of  variety  of  climates ; 
these  causes  are  the  forms  of  relief  of  the  soil,  the 
mountain  chains  and  the  plateaus,  and  their  disposition 
relative  to  the  damp  winds. 

A  wind  loaded  with  vapor  and  clouds  may  pass  over 
vast  continental  plains,  without  dissolving  into  rain, 
because  the  temperature  in  a  plain  may  remain  the 
same  through  long  spaces,  or  even  be  higher  than 
that  of  the  sea  wind  crossing  it.  There  is,  then,  no 
cause  of  condensation  of  the  vapors.  We  have  an 
example  of  this  in  the  Etesian  winds,  which  bear  the 
vapors  of  the  Mediterranean  into  Sahara.    They  have 


THE  RAINS,   INFLUENCE  OF  MOUNTAINS.  165 

no  sooner  passed  the  threshold  of  the  desert,  than  the 
dry  and  burnt  air,  as  we  have  already  said,  dissipates 
even  the  smallest  cloud. 

But  it  is  not  the  same  when  the  moist  winds  meet 
elevated  objects,  chains  of  mountains,  and  high  table 
lands,  in  their  transit.  Forced  to  ascend  along  their 
sides,  they  are  uplifted  into  the  colder  regions  of  the 
atmosphere ;  they  feel  the  pressure  of  the  air,  which  is 
less  there,  and  the  expansion  of  the  gases  composing 
them  iurther  increases  the  cooling;  the  air  loses  its 
capacity  for  holding  the  same  quantity  of  vapors  as 
before.  The  latter  are  condensed  into  clouds,  which 
crown  the  summits  of  the  mountains,  and  trail  along 
their  sides;  and  they  melt  soon  into  abundant  rains. 
If  the  sea  wind  passes  the  chain,  it  descends  on  the 
opposite  side,  dry  and  cold;  it  has  lost  all  its  marine 
character. 

The  mountain  chains  are,  then,  the  great  condensers, 
placed  by  nature  here  and  there  along  the  continents,  to 
rob  the  winds  of  their  treasures,  to  serve  as  reservoirs 
for  the  rain  waters,  and  to  distribute  them  afterwards,  as 
they  are  needed,  over  the  surrounding  plains.  Their 
wet  and  cloudy  summits  seem  to  be  untiringly  occupied 
with  this  important  work.  From  their  sides  flow  num- 
berless torrents  and  rivers,  carrying  in  all  directions 
wealth  and  life.  Every  system  of  mountains  becomes 
the  centre  of  a  system  of  irrigation,  of  water  courses, 
which  gives  to  its  neighborhood  a  value  of  primary 
importance. 

This  power  of  condensation  is  expressed  by  the  fact, 
that  in  the  heights  of  the  mountains  there  falls  more 


166  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

water  than  on  the  slopes,  and  at  their  foot  there  falls 
more  than  in  the  neighboring  plains.  Further,  the  side 
of  the  chain  exposed  to  the  sea  winds  receives  a  quantity 
of  rain  much  beyond  that  which  falls  on  the  opposite 
side ;  so  that  the  great  systems  of  mountains  not  only 
divide  the  spaces,  but  separate  different,  and  often  oppo- 
site, climates. 

The  examples  of  this  action  of  mountain  chains  on 
the  condensation  of  the  rains,  are  numerous  in  nature. 
I  have  only  an  embarrassment  of  choice.  Nevertheless, 
I  am  compelled  to  borrow  them  from  the  Old  World, 
because  the  exact  observations  I  need  are  there  more 
numerous. 

The  Alps  form  a  vast  semicircle  on  the  north  of  Italy, 
wherein  the  warm  and  moist  winds  of  the  south-west, 
coming  from  the  Mediterranean  and  the  ocean,  pour 
themselves  as  into  a  funnel.  Before  passing  this  lofty 
barrier  and  the  snow-capped  summits,  these  winds  lose 
their  vapors,  which  fall  in  copious  rain  on  all  the  south- 
ern slope  of  the  chain.  While  36  inches  of  water  fall  in 
the  plains  of  Lombardy,  there  falls  an  average  of  58 
inches  at  the  very  foot  of  the  Alps.  In  the  north-east 
corner,  forming  an  angle,  where  the  vapors  accumulate, 
at  Tolmezzo,  in  the  valley  of  the  Tagliamento,  a 
quantity  of  90  inches  annually  is  received,  which 
reminds  us  of  that  of  the  tropical  regions.  Now,  this 
number  is  a  very  constant  one,  for  it  is  the  average  of 
twenty-two  years'  observations.  The  northern  foot  of 
the  Alps  has  only  35  inches. 

The  Apennines  repeat  almost  the  same  phenomenon. 
They  form  an  arch,  the  convexity  of  which  is  marked 


THE  RAINS,   INFLUENCE  OF  MOUNTAINS.  167 

by  the  curve  of  the  Gulf  of  Genoa  and  the  valley  of  the 
Arno.  The  summits,  which  rise  from  4,000  to  6,000 
feet,  arrest  the  winds  of  the  sea,  and  there  fall  at  their 
southern  foot  64  inches  of  water,  while  only  26  inches 
fall  on  the  northern  descent,  in  the  plains  south  of  the 
Po.  The  same  relation  exists  further  south,  between 
the  western  and  eastern  slopes  of  the  same  chain ;  on 
the  former  it  rains  35  inches  of  water;  on  the  latter 
only  27. 

We  have  already  quoted  Scandinavia  as  giving  one  of 
the  most  striking  examples  of  this  kind  of  phenomena. 
The  elevation  and  the  length  of  that  chain,  its  lofty 
frozen  table  lands,  which  a  long  day's  journey  is  hardly 
sufficient  to  cross,  are  an  insurmountable  barrier  to  the 
vapors  brought  thither  on  the  Norwegian  coast  by  the 
south-west  wind  from  the  Atlantic.  They  are  condensed 
almost  entirely  upon  the  shores  incessantly  plunged  in 
drizzling  fogs.  At  Bergen,  a  day  of  sunshine  is  a  rarity, 
in  the  midst  of  almost  constant  rains  that  darken  the 
atmosphere.  Thus  we  have  there  a  fall  of  82  inches  of 
water,  —  an  enormous  quantity,  especially  for  such  high 
latitudes.  All  the  western  coast  receives  nearly  as 
much,  and  owes  to  the  temperature  of  this  wind,  and  to 
the  caloric  disengaged  by  so  active  a  condensation  of 
vapors,  the  remarkably  soft  and  equable  climate  which 
distinguishes  it.  On  the  southern  coast,  and  in  Sweden, 
there  fall  only  21  inches  of  water,  and  the  same  south- 
west wind  brings  thither  clear  weather  and  cold.  The 
same  wind  carries  rain  on  one  side,  and  fair  weather  on 
the  other. 

In  the  East  Indies,  we  encounter  the  majestic  chain 


108 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


of  the  Himalaya,  the  most  massive  and  lofty  on  the 
globe. 

The  winds  of  the  tropics,  passing  over  the  plains  of 
the  Ganges,  reach  it,  water  the  southern  slopes,  fertilize 
the  inland  valleys,  and  support  the  most  wonderful  ver- 
dure, up  to  the  limit  of  eternal  snows.  But  beyond,  the 
table  lands  of  the  region  of  the  sacred  lakes  and  of  Katchi 
and  Tangout,  indicate  by  their  drought  that  they  are 
deprived  of  this  beneficent  influence.  Katmandoo,  at 
a  third  of  the  height,  has  51  inches  of  rain ;  Delhi,  in  the 
plains  of  the  Ganges,  has  only  23. 

At  the  north-east  angle  of  the  Indo-Persian  Sea,  the 
south-west  trade  wind  accumulates  its  vapors  on  the 
flanks  of  the  Ghauts.  The  effect  of  this  chain,  which, 
however,  has  no  great  elevation,  is  such,  that,  after  the 
following  examples,  we  shall  be  able  to  dispense  with 
any  more.  At  Bombay,  on  the  west  coast,  the  rain  falls 
80  inches ;  302  have  been  received  at  Mahabaleshwar, 
on  the  mountains,  at  an  elevation  of  4,200  feet,  as  we 
have  already  said ;  this  quantity  is  reduced  to  26  inches 
on  the  other  side  of  the  chain,  at  Darwar,  on  the  table 
land  of  Deccan. 

But  we  have  said  that  the  plateaus  also  have  a  marked 
effect  upon  the  distribution  of  the  rain  waters.  Their 
borders  act  as  the  mountains,  and  their  surface,  heated 
more  than  the  layers  of  air  of  the  same  level,  absorb  the 
little  vapor  which  ascends  to  this  height,  without  con- 
densing it ;  their  extent,  finally,  and  their  elevation,  tend 
to  impede  the  access  of  the  oceanic  vapors,  and  to  in- 
crease the  drought.  These  differences  are  already  marked 


THE  RAINS,  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  TABLE  LANDS.  169 

in  plateaus  so  little  elevated  as  Spain,  whose  central 
plains  are  from  2,000  to  2,500  feet  above  the  sea. 
While  the  south-west  coast  of  Portugal,  —  Lisbon  for 
example,  —  is  watered  with  27  inches  of  rain,  the  border 
of  the  table  land  has  only  11  inches  ;  and  soon,  quitting 
the  verdant  region  of  the  seaboard,  we  ascend  the  arid 
plains  of  Estramadura,  of  La  Mancha,  and  of  Castile,  at 
the  centre  of  which,  Madrid  receives  not  more  than  10 
inches  of  rain  water.  No  other  place  in  Europe  is  so 
badly  provided  in  this  respect.  And,  nevertheless,  side 
by  side  with  this  minimum  of  rain,  we  find  the  greatest 
quantity  that  has  ever  been  made  out  on  this  continent. 
At  the  western  foot  of  the  Sierra  d'Estrella,  which  ad- 
vances, like  a  spur,  very  far  towards  the  coast,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Mondego,  there  has  been  received,  it  is 
said,  at  Coimbra,  the  enormous  quantity  of  225  inches 
of  water.  An  error  has  been  suspected  in  this  measure, 
taken  in  1816  and  1817.  Schouw  has  reduced  it  to  135 
inches;  Kaemtz,  to  118;  adopting  the  last  number,  there 
is  still  a  difference  of  more  than  100  inches  from  Madrid, 
situated  under  very  nearly  the  same  latitude,  and  on  the 
same  peninsula. 

If  it  is  so  with  the  table  lands  of  the  third  order,  as 
that  of  Spain,  what  will  be  the  case  with  those  enormous 
masses  which  form  the  body  of  eastern  and  western 
Asia? 

The  fringe  of  snowy  mountains  surrounding  them, 
their  distance  from  the  oceans,  the  extent  of  their  sur- 
faces, their  elevation  in  the  atmosphere,  —  all  these 
causes  conspire  to  give  them  that  character  of  aridity 
which  renders  them  almost  an  unbroken  desert. 
15 


170  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

The  plateaus  of  southern  Africa,  those  of  Mexico  and 
of  California,  compared  with  the  neighboring  countries, 
have  equally  an  indisputable  character  of  aridity.  At 
Vera  Cruz,  for  example,  there  fall  62  inches  of  water, 
while  in  Mexico,  and  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific,  the 
quantity  seems  to  be  considerably  reduced. 

If  the  influence  of  mountain  chains  and  table  lands 
is  so  considerable  in  all  the  particular  cases  which  we 
have  just  examined,  it  ought  to  manifest  itself  on  a 
grand  scale  and  in  a  certain  connection,  for  each  conti- 
nent in  particular,  and  for  each  of  the  two  worlds.  We 
have  previously  ascertained  a  general  law  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  reliefs :  there  should  be  here  a  reflection 
of  this  law ;  and  its  importance  should  be  revealed  in 
the  distribution  of  the  pluvial  waters,  and  of  the  climate. 
We  proceed,  then,  to  seek  an  explanation  of  the  effect 
that  must  be  produced  upon  each  continent  by  the 
particular  disposition  of  its  chains  of  mountains,  of  its 
plateaus  and  plains,  relatively  to  the  maritime  winds, 
bringing  them  the  rains  and  tempering  their  climate. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  New  World,  the  structure  of 
which  is  more  simple  and  easy  to  comprehend. 

The  fundamental  features  of  the  structure  of  Amer- 
ica, I  repeat  here,  are  the  long  and  lofty  barrier  of 
the  Andes,  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  extending  almost 
from  one  pole  to  the  other,  along  the  western  coast  of 
the  two  continents ;  then,  on  the  east,  vast  plains,  inter- 
spersed with  some  mountain  ranges  of  slight  elevation. 
Let  us  see  what  is  the  effect  of  this  disposition  on  the 
climate  of  both  these  continents. 


THE  RAINS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


171 


In  South  America,  the  principal  body  of  which  is 
situated  under  the  sky  of  the  tropics,  this  disposition 
secures  to  the  continent  a  copious  supply  of  moisture. 
The  plains  of  the  east  are  open  to  the  trade  wind  of  the 
Atlantic,  which  sweeps  over  them  unobstructed,  and 
bears  thither  unceasingly  the  vapors  of  the  ocean.  The 
secondary  chains  of  Brazil  and  of  the  Guyanas,  from 
5,000  to  7,000,  do  not  rise  high  enough  into  the  atmos- 
phere to  arrest  it;  the  only  effect  they  have,  is  to 
augment  the  falling  showers,  and  to  supply  a  more 
complete  irrigation.  The  Orinoco,  and  the  lower  trib- 
utaries of  the  Amazon,  the  Tocantins,  the  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  many  others  which  flow  from  these  two 
systems,  are  there  to  tell  us.  But  it  is  not  the  same 
with  the  Andes.  This  chain,  whose  crests  and  sum- 
mits lift  themselves  everywhere  into  the  region  of  per- 
petual snows,  forms,  by  its  elevation  and  continuity,  an 
invincible  obstacle  to  all  the  moist  winds  of  the  east. 
The  vapors,  having  traversed  the  plateaus  of  Eastern 
Brazil,  without  lingering  there  long,  accumulate  and 
condense,  and  flow  down  their  eastern  slopes.  All  this 
zone  at  the  foot  of  the  Andes  is  one  of  the  best  watered 
in  the  globe.  Thus  we  see  issuing  from  hence  those 
immense  streams  ;  the  Maranon,  the  king  of  the  rivers 
of  the  earth,  and  all  its  tributaries,  the  Ucayale,  the  Rio 
Purus,  the  Madera,  and  many  others,  to  which  nothing 
is  wanting  but  to  flow  through  civilized  countries,  in 
order  to  rival  in  importance  the  Nile,  the  Ganges,  and 
the  Mississippi. 

But  on  the  other  side  of  the  Andes  all  is  changed. 
Neither  the  trade  wind  nor  its  vapors  arrive  at  the 


172  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

western  coast.  Scarcely  do  the  table  lands  of  Pern  and 
of  Bolivia  receive  from  them  the  latter  benefits,  by  the 
storms  which  burst  out  at  the  limit  of  the  two  atmos- 
pheres. The  coast  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  from  Punta 
Parina  and  Amatope  to  far  beyond  the  tropic,  from  the 
equator  to  Chili,  is  scarcely  ever  refreshed  by  the  rains 
of  the  ocean.  Deprived  of  the  vapors  of  the  Atlantic 
by  the  chain  of  the  Andes,  these  countries  behold  the 
vapors  of  the  Pacific  flitting  away  with  the  trade 
wind,  and  no  accidental  breeze  brings  them  back. 
Drought  and  the  desert  are  their  portion,  and  on  the 
border  of  the  seas,  in  the  very  sight  of  the  waves,  they 
are  reduced  to  envy  the  neighboring  countries  of  the 
centre  of  the  continent  the  gifts  the  ocean  refuses 
to  themselves,  while  lavishing  them  upon  the  others. 
Thus,  under  the  same  latitude,  under  the  same  tropical 
heavens,  where  the  phenomena  meantime  are  so  regular, 
the  two  slopes  of  the  Andes  have  a  climate  perfectly 
opposite.  In  one  of  them,  the  richest  vegetation  ;  in  the 
other,  drought,  and  a  parched  soil,  the  nakedness  of 
which  is  poorly  disguised  by  the  light  robe  of  a  thinly 
scattered  vegetation.  The  Andes  separate  the  two 
climates  by  a  sharply  cut  line,  and  testify  strongly  to 
the  importance  of  the  part  performed  in  climates  by 
the  mountain  chains,  and  their  situation  relatively  to 
the  general  winds. 

The  northern  and  southern  limits  of  this  arid  region 
are  not  where  one  would  expect  to  find  them  at  the 
first  glance.  The  question  is  asked,  why  the  same 
causes  do  not  hinder  the  rains  from  watering  the  coasts 
of  Peru,  under  the  equator,  and  of  New  Granada.  But, 


THE   RAINS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


173 


besides  that  the  depression  of  the  Cordilleras  towards 
the  north  allows  the  trade  wind  to  round  it  and  to  reach 
the  western  side,  let  us  remember  that  this  part  of  the 
coast  corresponds  nearly  to  the  zone  of  calms,  in  which 
the  direct  influence  of  the  trade  wind  is  nearly  annihi- 
lated, and  where  almost  daily  rain  storms  bring  back  to 
the  earth  the  vapors  in  the  very  places  whence  they 
have  risen.  The  influence  of  this  latter  circumstance 
here  neutralizes  the  action  of  the  Andes. 

It  is  not  the  same  at  the  southern  limit.  Here,  not 
only  the  chain  is  continuous,  but  it  forms,  in  the  lofty 
table  lands  of  Southern  Peru  and  of  Bolivia,  the  broad- 
est and  the  highest  terrace  of  all  the  Andes,  shutting 
out  all  communication  between  the  two  sides.  More- 
over, we  are  here  upon  the  limit  of  the  tropic,  and  the 
regions  in  the  neighborhood  are  often  scantily  supplied 
with  rains,  as  we  shall  by-and-by  understand.  The 
lower  regular  trade  wind  begins,  in  fact,  to  blow  there, 
and,  as  we  know,  the  sky  remains  everywhere  serene. 
The  upper,  or  return  trade  wind,  does  not  yet  fall 
there ;  so  that  the  causes  of  the  condensation  of  vapor 
are  wanting,  and  dryness  of  climate  is  the  inevitable 
consequence.  It  is  only  at  a  greater  distance,  where 
the  upper  trade  wind  reaches  the  surface  again,  that  the 
conflict  of  the  winds  commences,  and  with  it  the  rains. 
On  the  coast  of  Bolivia,  at  the  south  of  the  Gulf  of 
Arica,  the  two  arefying  influences  unite  and  cause  an 
almost  absolute  drought  in  the  long  desert  of  Atacama, 
which  borders  the  coast  nearly  to  Chili.  It  is  only  in 
the  latter  country,  where  the  return  trade  wind  of  the 


174  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


north-west  makes  ite3lf  felt,  that  the  rains  recommence 
by  degrees  to  water  the  earth. 

In  the  part  of  South  America  situated  beyond  the 
tropical  regions,  the  relative  position  of  the  Andes  and 
of  the  plains  on  the  east,  produces  an  opposite  effect. 
The  vapors  of  the  Pacific  cannot  penetrate  there.  The 
return,  or  north-west  trade  wind,  avoids  the  coast  and 
reenters  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  or,  driven  aside  by  the 
Andes,  comes  back  arefied  and  made  continental, 
across  the  plains  of  Paraguay  and  of  the  Pampas. 
Hence  the  violent  west  wind,  in  Buenos  Ayres,  called 
the  Pampero,  which  carries  to  the  coast  only  the 
whirlwind  of  dust  it  has  raised  in  the  arid  plains  it 
traverses  in  its  course.  The  western  coast,  on  the 
contrary,  receives,  with  the  return  trade  wind  of  the 
north-west,  the  vapors  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Chili  has 
rains  in  winter  at  the  moment  when  the  north-west 
reaches  the  neighboring  regions  of  the  tropics.  More 
to  the  south,  the  winds  of  the  sea  coming  from  these 
parts,  add  their  contingent,  and  give  all  this  southern 
point  of  America  the  continuous  rains  belonging  to  the 
cool,  temperate  regions.  Terra  del  Fuego  and  Cape 
Horn,  at  the  confluence  of  all  the  sea  winds,  are 
incessantly  bathed  by  the  rains  or  covered  by  the 
snows ;  and  the  correctness  of  the  not  very  flattering 
description  Forster  gives  us  of  that  climate,  has  been 
confirmed  by  all  the  navigators  who  have  travelled 
through  that  inhospitable  region  of  fogs  and  tempests. 

Thus,  in  South  America,  the  position  of  the  plains 
and  of  the  mountains,  combined  with  the  prevailing 
direction  of  the  sea  winds,  produces  the  copious  moisture 


THE  RAINS  IN  NORTH  AMERICA. 


175 


of  the  tropical  portion  and  the  comparative  dryness  of 
the  temperate. 

In  North  America,  an  analogous  disposition  of  the 
reliefs,  and  of  the  atmospherical  currents,  would  doubt- 
less produce  the  same  dryness  as  in  the  plains  of  La 
Plata  and  the  Pampas,  if  the  deep  cut  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  did  not  open  the  whole  south  of  the  continent 
to  the  wet  winds  of  the  tropics.  Instead  of  coming 
from  the  interior  of  the  continent,  as  in  the  temperate 
regions  of  South  America,  the  return  trade  wind,  which 
enters  by  this  broad  gate,  comes  directly  from  the  seas, 
and  has  lost  nothing  of  its  vapors.  It  waters  copiously 
along  its  course  the  whole  Atlantic  region  and  the  west- 
ern slope  of  the  Alleghanies ;  even  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  shares  its  benefits,  although  to  a  less  degree. 
Towards  the  north,  in  the  interior,  the  polar  winds  seem 
to  resume  their  empire,  and  the  moisture  lessens.  Thus 
North  America  is  more  favored  with  rains  than  could  be 
expected  from  its  situation  westward  of  the  return  winds 
of  the  equator,  and  from  its  character  as  a  large  con- 
tinent. 

Along  the  western  shore,  from  the  coasts  of  Mexico 
to  60°  of  north  latitude,  we  find  the  same  succession  of 
climates  as  in  South  America,  in  latitudes  nearly  cor- 
responding. Between  the  tropics,  in  the  rear  of  the 
high  table  lands  of  Mexico,  where  the  trade  wind  of  the 
Atlantic  does  not  come,  drought  reigns,  as  on  the  coast 
of  Peru.  In  the  sub-tropical  region,  where  the  south- 
west trade  wind  has  still  but  little  influence,  the  rains 
are  slight ;  they  are  almost  none  on  the  high  table  lands 


176 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


of  California.  Oregon,  as  well  as  Chili,  has  the  winter 
rains,  indicating  the  return  of  the  upper  trade  wind  to 
land ;  they  seem  to  penetrate  even  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  east  of  which  the  winter  rains  are  frequent. 
Here  we  find  the  sources  of  the  Missouri.  In  the  North, 
finally,  in  Russian  America,  where  the  coast  bends  in 
and  forms  a  deep  bay,  the  south-west  winds  strike  the 
coast,  and  produce  the  continuous  and  copious  rains,  the 
temperate,  equal  climate,  and  the  vegetation  of  the 
coasts  of  Scotland  and  Norway. 

The  investigation  we  have  just  made  of  the  distri- 
bution of  the  rain  in  the  two  Americas  shows  the  influ- 
ence of  the  direction  of  the  high  chains,  and  of  their 
position  on  the  western  coast.  It  is  immense.  Place 
the  Andes  along  the  Atlantic,  and  the  marine  trade  wind 
is  arrested  and  dried ;  the  table  lands  of  Brazil,  the  end- 
less plains  of  the  Amazon,  are  nothing  but  a  desert : 
no  more  of  that  wealth  of  vegetation,  of  those  virgin 
forests,  which  now  constitute  their  beauty ;  South  Amer- 
ica loses  its  character. 

Place  the  Rocky  Mountains  east  of  North  America, 
open  the  plains  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  south-west 
winds  of  the  Pacific,  and  the  climate  becomes  softer, 
more  equal ;  the  plains  are  still  better  watered,  perhaps  ; 
nature  has  certainty  changed.  But  what  would  then 
become  of  the  present  destinies,  the  entire  future  of  this 
continent,  were  it  necessary  to  cross  the  desert  table 
lands  of  California,  and  their  high  mountain  ranges,  in 
order  to  reach  the  Mississippi  from  the  Atlantic  coast  % 
What  would  become  of  its  important  relations  with 
the  Old  World,  if  America,  averted  from  the  civilized 


THE  RAINS  IN  THE  OLD  WORLD. 


177 


nations,  looked  only  towards  the  Pacific  Ocean  and 
China? 

If  we  now  direct  our  attention  to  the  Old  World, 
we  shall  again  find  the  same  influence  of  the  forms  of 
relief. 

Tropical  Africa,  and  the  greatest  part  of  the  East 
of  this  continent,  present  two  regions  very  unequally 
supplied  with  rains.  On  the  north  of  the  equator,  the 
lands  are  less  consolidated,  the  plateaus  isolated  from 
each  other.  Abyssinia  is  far  from  Mandara,  and  that  is 
far  from  the  Kong  Mountains.  The  coast,  from  Cape 
Guardafui  to  that  of  Zanguebar,  is  slightly  elevated :  it 
permits  the  east  winds  of  the  Indian  Ocean  to  penetrate 
the  inland  and  to  water  all  these  parallels.  The  coasts 
of  Senegambia  and  of  Guinea  are  in  the  region  of  calms 
at  the  meeting  of  the  two  trade  winds,  and  owe  to  this 
circumstance  their  copious  rains,  their  climate,  moist 
and  fruitful,  but  treacherous  and  fatal  to  the  man  of  the 
North. 

On  the  south  of  the  equator  the  plateaus  are  con- 
tinuous ;  but  instead  of  being  in  the  West,  as  in  Amer- 
ica, the  uplands  are  in  the  East ;  the  eastern  coast  rises, 
and  probably  reaches,  in  the  chain  of  Lupata,  the 
loftiest  elevation  of  this  part  of  the  continent.  Then  the 
eastern  coast  arrests  the  vapors;  there  the  rains  are 
everywhere  abundant,  from  Cape  Guardafui  to  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  while  the  vast  elevated  plains  stretching 
from  the  west  to  the  coasts  of  Congo,  seem  to  exhibit,  as 
far  as  we  know  them,  only  sterility  and  drought  under  the 
same  latitude,  where  we  see  the  plains  of  the  Amazon 
and  of  Brazil  drenched  every  year  by  torrents  of  water. 


178 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


The  contrast  is  complete  ;  and  whence  comes  this  differ- 
ence, if  not  from  the  disposition  of  the  reliefs  in  the  two 
continents  1 

The  region  of  Cape  of  Good  Hope  is  watered  on  the 
south-east  coast,  during  the  summer,  by  the  winds  of  the 
Indian  Ocean.  But  in  the  whole  West  the  climate  is  dry 
except  at  certain  points,  and  the  Atlantic  sends  it  only  a 
few  autumnal  and  winter  rains. 

The  North,  finally,  Sahara,  is  closed  towards  the  east 
against  the  access  of  the  winds  ;  its  sub-tropical  position 
and  the  nature  of  its  soil  contribute  further  to  cause  the 
deficiency  of  rain,  making  it  one  of  the  most  vast  and 
complete  deserts  in  the  world. 

Western  Europe,  by  its  position,  by  the  absence  of 
high  continuous  chains  along  its  seaboards,  is  open  to 
the  equatorial  winds  of  the  Atlantic,  which  bring  their 
moisture  thither  all  the  year.  The  small  extent  of  its 
surface,  the  number  of  its  inland  seas,  and  of  the  deep 
bays  cutting  into  its  mass,  and  leaving  no  place  very  far 
from  some  maritime  basin;  all  these  circumstances  secure 
to  it  continued  rains,  mild  climate,  and  that  compara- 
tively high  temperature  which  belongs  to  it  peculiarly. 
The  numerous  mountain  chains,  the  endless  diversity  of 
soil,  multiply  the  local  condensations,  as  we  have  seen, 
and  divide  the  continent  into  climatic  regions  as  mani- 
fold as  they  are  varied.  Europe,  alone,  is  without  a 
desert. 

In  tropical  Asia  the  monsoons  and  mountain  ranges 
regulate  the  rains.  The  peninsula  of  India  has  the 
rainy  seasons  reversed  on  its  two  coasts ;  but  its  plentiful 


THE  RAINS  IN  AUSTRALIA. 


179 


rains  are  reduced  to  a  very  small  quantity  on  the  pla- 
teaus of  Deccan.  All  the  region  of  Indo-China  and  of 
the  great  Asiatic  archipelago  is  one  of  the  best  watered 
in  the  world.  The  conflict  of  the  different  winds,  of 
which  all  this  space  is  the  theatre,  the  variety  of  the 
lands,  so  numerously  scattered  there,  and  the  discon- 
tinuity of  the  chains,  which  can  nowhere  arrest  the 
winds,  are  so  many  causes  that  secure  to  the  whole  of  it 
such  copiousness  of  tropical  rains. 

The  Himalaya  and  the  lofty  chains  of  China  stop  the 
course  of  the  ocean  winds ;  all  beyond,  towards  the  inte- 
rior, is  a  desert;  it  is  the  Gobi,  the  Tangout,  and  the 
sandy  seas  of  Turkestan. 

Australia  is  as  yet  so  little  known  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  analyze  its  climate.  Nevertheless,  what  we  have 
learned  of  late  years  concerning  the  configuration  of  its 
relief,  proves  that  the  highest  lands,  as  in  Africa,  are 
placed  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  continent.  The 
trade  wind  of  the  Pacific  scarcely  penetrates  thither, 
and  that  of  the  temperate  regions  shuns  the  coast. 
Furthermore,  the  southern  half  is,  for  the  greater  part, 
in  the  sub-tropical  region,  and  seems  to  be  deficient  in 
mountains.  Thus  we  may  believe  that  the  interior  is  a 
desert.  But  the  eastern  coast,  Botany  Bay,  and  the 
Australian  Alps,  are  better  watered  than  Swan  River, 
on  the  western  coast,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  colonies 
established  on  these  two  shores,  has,  of  necessity,  been 
in  proportion.  The  mean  quantity  of  rain  water  which 
falls  in  this  part  of  the  world  is  estimated  at  twenty-five 
inches ;  it  is  the  most  insular,  and  yet,  owing  to  these 
circumstances,  and  to  its  rounded  form,  the  most  imper- 


180 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


fectly  watered  of  the  continents.  If  what  precedes  did 
not  inform  us  of  this,  the  aspect  and  the  slender  forms 
of  the  vegetation,  its  attenuated  leaves,  which  constitute 
its  characteristic,  would  be  sufficient  to  convince  us  of 
the  fact. 

Thus,  gentlemen,  if  the  general  climates  are  given  by 
the  latitude,  that  is,  by  the  spherical  form  of  the  earth, 
the  special  climates,  characterized  by  the  unequal  distri- 
bution of  the  temperatures  and  the  rains,  are  the  effect 
of  the  grouping  of  the  continents,  and  of  the  particular 
disposition  of  their  reliefs. 

In  the  point  of  view  now  occupying  us,  each  con- 
tinent has  its  special  character.  South  America  is  the 
most  humid  of  the  tropical  continents ;  North  America, 
the  best  watered  of  the  temperate  continents,  but  the 
rains  are  equally  distributed ;  Africa  and  Asia  present 
the  absolute  contrast  of  dry  and  moist  in  the  zone  of 
the  deserts  touching  upon  the  regions  bathed  by  the 
rains  of  the  tropics ;  temperate  Asia  is  the  dryest  of  the 
lorthern  continents.  Europe  combines  the  moisture  of 
•he  maritime  climate  with  a  great  variety  of  contrasts  ; 
but  they  are  all  softened.  Australia,  finally,  is  the 
iryest  and  poorest  of  the  continents. 

The  general  law  of  the  reliefs  in  the  two  worlds  thus 
manifests  its  influence.  The  New  World  is  that  of 
plains,  and  the  plains  are  open  to  the  winds  of  the  sea ; 
its  continental  forms  are  less  piled  up  and  massive :  it  is, 
on  the  whole,  the  most  humid.  The  Old  World  is  that 
of  plateaus  and  of  vast  extents;  drought  is  its  por- 
tion.   It  is  enough  to  recall  the  influence  these  circum- 


THE  MARITIME  ZONE. 


181 


stances  of  humidity  or  aridity  exercise  on  the  vegeta- 
tion, the  aspect,  and  the  organized  beings  of  a  country, 
to  foresee  athat  these  great  differences  between  one 
world  and  the  other  will  be  again  reproduced  in  another 
province. 

We  have  taken  a  rapid  view  of  the  variety  of  the 
phenomena  to  which  the  intermingling  of  the  solid  and 
Liquid  elements,  of  land  and  water,  gives  occasion.  It 
would  be  easy,  by  a  more  detailed  examination,  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  these  contrasts,  of  which  I  have 
pointed  out  only  the  most  general.  But  I  have  said 
enough  for  a  sketch  of  this  vast  subject,  and  to  enable 
you  to  take  a  glance  at  all  the  wealth  of  life  that  nature 
unfolds  by  means  so  simple.  I  will  add  only  one  con- 
sideration more,  which  will  serve  for  a  conclusion  to 
what  we  have  thus  far  said  of  this  great  contrast  of  the 
continental  and  oceanic  hemispheres. 

We  have  seen,  gentlemen,  that  it  is  from  the  combi- 
nation of  the  two  elements  that  life  is  born,  a  higher 
life  than  that  belonging  to  either  of  them.  It  is  neither 
the  oceanic  climate,  nor  the  continental  climate,  which 
we  shall  proclaim  as  the  foremost  climate  of  the  world ; 
it  is  the  combination  of  the  two  —  it  is  the  maritime 
climate.  Here  are  allied  the  continental  vigor  and  the 
oceanic  softness,  in  a  fortunate  union,  mutually  temper- 
ing each  other.  Here  the  development  is  more  intense, 
life  more  rich,  more  varied  in  all  its  forms.  And  when 
to  these  causes  we  further  add  the  advantage  of  a  tropi- 
cal temperature,  the  forms  of  nature  are,  as  it  were, 
raised  to  their  highest  degree,  and  the  wealth  it  brings 
16 


182  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

to  light  surpasses  all  elsewhere  seen.  I  will  cite  only  a 
single  example :  this  will  suffice. 

Nowhere  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  is  the  blending 
of  the  continental  and  oceanic  element  so  complete,  and 
on  so  great  a  scale,  as  in  the  East  Indies,  and  in  that 
archipelago — the  greatest  in  the  world — which  fills  the 
space  comprised  between  the  South  of  Asia  and  Austra- 
lia. Peninsulas,  which  are  worlds,  as  those  of  Deccan 
and  Indo-China ;  islands,  which  are  small  continents, 
like  Borneo  and  Sumatra;  a  blending  of  chains  and 
plateaus,  and  of  plains,  as  on  the  continent;  and  all 
this  cut  up,  bordered,  or  surrounded  by  seas  in  the  most 
diversified  manner,  bathed  by  the  humid  atmosphere  of 
the  tropics,  and  exposed  to  the  burning  rays  of  a  verti- 
cal sun — these  are  all  the  means  of  physical  life  which 
nature  can  receive.  And  then,  what  mighty,  what 
admirable  vegetation  !  We  see  at  the  same  time  plants 
with  broad  and  numerous  leaves,  the  excessive  expan- 
sion of  which  is  always  the  proof  of  an  exuberant 
humidity;  and  those  shrubs  with  concentrated  and 
elaborated  gums,  those  spices,  those  aromata,  that 
bear  witness  to  the  dry  and  intense  heat  of  the  conti- 
nent. There  is  the  country  of  the  mighty  Banian,  the 
symbol  of  vegetable  strength.  There  uplifts  its  head 
the  majestic  Talipot  palm,  a  single  leaf  whereof,  six- 
teen feet  broad  and  forty  feet  round,  is  enough  to  give 
shade  to  a  score  of  men  at  once;  and  in  the  bosom 
of  those  virgin  forests  grow  the  largest  flowers  in  the 
world,  the  Rafflesia,  whose  gigantic  corolla  alone 
measures  no  less  than  three  feet  across.  There  grow 
the  cinnamon,  the  nutmeg,  the  pepper,  and  the  cloves, 


THE  MARITIME  ZONE. 


183 


which  all  civilized  nations  have  fetched  thence  from 
time  immemorial. 

Everything  most  grand  and  powerful  of  the  produc- 
tions of  the  animal  world  is  there  encountered.  The 
rhinoceros,  the  huge  royal  tiger,  the  orang-outang,  that 
great  serious-looking  ape,  the  most  perfect  of  animals, 
and  that  which  seems  to  foreshadow  in  its  structure  the 
complete  configuration  of  the  human  body,  are  all  inhab- 
itants of  those  countries.  If  to  these  we  add  the  mineral 
wealth,  the  gold  and  the  diamonds,  abounding  there,  we 
may  pronounce  these  regions  the  most  richly  endowed 
of  the  universe. 

But  let  us  raise  ourselves  above  the  limits  of  the 
natural,  into  the  regions  of  the  historic  world.  Where 
have  we  beheld  all  peoples  and  societies  arrive  at  their 
highest  perfection,  if  not  in  Europe,  that  peninsular 
continent,  the  most  indented  and  most  maritime  of  all 
the  continents?  Where  do  we  see  barbarism  reign 
triumphant,  if  not  in  Africa  and  Australia,  continents 
shut  off  from  all  contact  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  its 
seas  and  its  people,  by  their  continuous  and  unindented 
outlines'?  This  is  neither  the  time  nor  the  place  to 
analyze  the  causes  of  this  phenomenon ;  I  now  merely 
allude  to  the  facts,  intending  to  return  to  the  subject 
hereafter.  But  I  will  add,  that  it  is  not  an  isolated  fact. 
Call  together  your  historical  recollections,  and  cast  your 
eyes  upon  this  map  of  the  world,  and  you  will  see  that 
all  the  highly  civilized  peoples  of  the  earth,  with  the 
exception  of  one  or  two  primitive  nations,  have  lived, 
or  still  live,  on  the  margins  of  seas  or  oceans. 

The  Chinese  and  the  Hindoos  unquestionably  repre- 


184  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

sent  the  most  advanced  state  of  civilization  in  Oriental 
Asia.  In  Europe,  to  name  Phoenicia,  Asia  Minor, 
Greece,  and  Rome,  is  to  enumerate  all  the  highly  culti- 
vated peoples  of  antiquity,  and  all  have,  as  the  theatre 
of  their  strifes  and  exploits,  as  well  as  for  their  connect- 
ing link,  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  To  come  to  a  later 
date,  it  is  to  the  ocean  that  Spain  and  Portugal  owe  the 
brilliant  part  they  played,  at  the  period  when  superb 
discoveries  doubled  the  extent  of  the  historic  world.  At 
this  very  hour,  to  conclude,  the  might  of  England  causes 
itself  to  be  felt  from  one  to  the  other  extremity  of  the 
world. 

And  in  this  new  world  of  North  America,  now  enter- 
ing on  its  great  career  among  the  nations  under  so 
happy  auspices,  is  it  not  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
that  life  is  developed  in  its  most  active,  most  intense, 
and  most  exalted  form  ?  Is  this  merely  a  chance  conse- 
quence of  the  accidental  debarkation  at  that  point  of 
the  colonists  of  the  Ancient  World?  No,  gentlemen, 
brilliant  ,  as  may  be  the  prospects  the  West  may  aspire 
to  from  the  exuberance  of  its  soil,  life  and  action  will 
always  point  toward  the  coast,  which  can  only  derive 
fresh  accessions  of  prosperity  from  the  prosperity  of 
the  interior.  The  life  of  nations  is  in  the  commerce 
of  the  world,  not  only  in  a  material,  but  even  more  in 
a  moral  point  of  view;  and  it  is  because  America  is 
enthroned  queen-like  upon  the  two  great  oceans,  that 
she  will  be  called  to  play  a  part  as  mediator  between 
the  two  extremities  of  the  world,  of  which  no  one  can 
at  this  moment  conceive  the  magnificent  extent. 

This,  then,  is  the  resolution  of  the  contrast  between 


THE  MARITIME  ZONE.  185 

the  continental  and  the  oceanic  world,  as  regards  the 
intermixture  of  their  natures.  It  is  in  this  region  of 
contact  between  the  sea  and  the  ocean  that  life  is 
unfolded  in  its  most  intense  and  diversified  form ;  and, 
both  in  point  of  nature  and  of  history,  the  maritime 
zone  of  every  continent  enjoys  a  superiority  over  all 
others  not  to  be  questioned  or  disputed. 
16* 


LECTURE  VIII. 


The  marine  currents  —  Tlie  motion  of  the  seas  due  to  other  causes  than 
that  of  the  continental  waters  —  Various  causes  of  the  marine  cur- 
rents —  Differences  of  temperature  the  principal,  acting  indirectly  by 
the  winds,  directly  by  the  unequal  density  of  the  waters —  Coincidence 
between  the  great  atmospheric  currents  and  the  marine  currents  — 
System  of  general  currents  —  The  Equatorial  current  and  the  Polar 
currents  —  The  currents  of  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  of  the  Indian  Ocean ; 
of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  —  Contrast  of  the  Old  World  and  the  New  — 
Disposition  of  their  continental  masses — Consequences — The  Old 
World  the  continental;  the  New  the  oceanic  —  The  first  essentially 
temperate,  the  second  tropical  —  Special  character  of  the  New  World 
—  Its  structure  more  simple  —  Abundance  of  its  waters  —  Vegetation 
predominates  on  the  Animal  World  —  Incomplete  development  of  the 
higher  animals  —  Influence  on  the  indigenous  man  —  Conclusions. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

Thus  far  we  have  been  studying,  in  the  grand  con- 
trast of  land  and  water,  the  influence  of  the  oceanic 
element  on  the  continental  world,  of  the  wet  upon  the 
dry,  more  than  that  of  the  continents  upon  the  oceans. 
This  was  the  right  order,  because  the  continental  world 
is  much  the  more  important.  Nevertheless,  we  will 
not  leave  the  subject  without  saying,  at  least,  a  few 
words  upon  the  action  the  continents,  in  their  turn, 
exercise  upon  the  oceans.  Now,  as  this  action  of  the 
lands  is  essentially  limited  to  regulating  and  modifying 
the  movements  of  the  oceanic  waters,  by  their  disposi- 


THE  MARINE  CURRENTS. 


187 


tion,  by  the  forms  of  their  coasts,  and  their  submarine 
relief,  it  will  be  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  take  cog- 
nizance of  the  principal  phenomena  presented  by  the 
marine  currents,  without  entering  upon  details  which 
the  shortness  of  the  time  allowed  compels  me  to  pass 
over  in  silence. 

The  spectacle  around  us  has  accustomed  us  to  see 
the  continental  waters  in  motion.  We  hear,  without 
astonishment,  the  streams  murmur  in  the  meadows,  the 
torrents  roar  in  the  mountains,  and  behold  the  rivers 
flow  majestically  along  their  bed.  The  cause  of  this 
motion  of  the  water  is  familiar.  We  know  that  the 
particles  of  this  movable  element,  influenced  by  the 
hidden  power  of  gravitation,  move  and  flow  untiringly, 
until  they  have  reached  the  lowest  place  accessible  to 
them.  If  in  their  course  they  fall  in  with  a  basin 
having  no  exit,  they  gather  there  and  put  themselves 
into  a  state  of  equilibrium  and  repose,  preserving 
their  horizontal  surface  and  their  immobility,  until 
driven  from  it  by  another  force  foreign  to  the  first. 
Such  are  our  peaceful  lakes,  with  pure  and  tranquil 
waters,  whose  mirror  reflects  the  mountains  that  adorn 
their  margin,  the  azure  of  the  sky,  and  even  the  slightest 
cloud  floating  in  the  atmosphere  that  bends  over  them. 

But  these  basins,  which  here  and  there  collect  the 
living  waters  of  the  continents,  are  only  the  image,  on  a 
very  small  scale,  of  what  the  vast  and  deep  basin  of  the 
oceans  is  for  the  whole  of  the  waters  of  our  planet. 

All  the  water  springs  that  furrow  the  continents 
tend  towards  this  common  reservoir.  Gushing  from  the 
height  of  the  table  lands,  or  the  lofty  summits  of  the 


188 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


mountains,  they  pour  their  waters  first  from  fall  to  fall 
headlong  down  the  rapid  slopes;  they  traverse,  at  a 
more  sober  and  measured  pace,  the  long  low  plains 
leading  to  the  ocean,  into  which,  as  we  behold  their 
slower  and  slower  and  more  sluggish  march,  their  waves 
seem  unwillingly  to  enter,  as  if  conscious  that  they  were 
to  be  confounded  together,  and  lose  their  existence 
ticre.  Here,  in  truth,  ends  the  ephemeral  life  of  the 
rivers;  their  motion  has  ceased,  they  disappear  in  the 
immensity  of  that  vast  abyss  whence  they  had  issued. 

We  are,  then,  inclined  to  look  upon  the  basin  of  the 
oceans  as  containing  waters  in  a  state  of  rest ;  for  the 
cause  which  sets  the  river  waters  in  motion  exists  no 
longer ;  the  differences  of  level  are  annulled.  Yet  let  us 
be  cautious;  all  this  may  well  be  only  a  first  appear- 
ance. The  very  mobility  of  water,  which  prevents  it 
from  reflecting  permanent  forms,  and  levels  all  ine- 
qualities, renders  it  also  accessible  to  the  slightest 
external  influences,  and  several  causes  succeed  in  im- 
pressing upon  this  element,  passive  in  the  highest 
degree,  the  most  varied  motions. 

The  winds  raise  the  waves  of  the  ocean  by  an  action 
wholly  mechanical,  and  produce  only  a  superficial  and 
local  agitation ;  but  when  they  blow  constantly  in  the 
same  direction,  they  impart  to  the  waters  a  transfer 
motion  in  the  direction  of  their  own  course.  The  sun 
and  moon  pass  over  the  surface  of  the  seas,  and  the 
entire  mass  of  waters,  obedient  to  the  mighty  attraction, 
piles  itself  up  in  a  vast  swell,  whose  summit  follows  the 
course  of  the  dominant  luminary.  These  are  the  tides. 
The  unequal  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  on  the  different 


THE  MARINE  CURRENTS. 


189 


points  of  the  ocean,  whence  result  differences  of  level, 
and,  above  all,  the  differences  of  temperature  between 
the  tropical  and  the  polar  seas,  to  which  correspond 
different  degrees  of  density,  are  so  many  more  causes 
disturbing  the  equilibrium  of  the  oceanic  waters,  and 
creating  in  their  bosom  various  motions  which  continu- 
ally tend  to  reestablish  the  equilibrium,  but  without 
effecting  it.  Sometimes  the  superficial  mass  is  trans- 
ported from  east  to  west,  as  in  the  great  equatorial 
current;  sometimes  a  deep  and  narrow  band,  a  true 
oceanic  river,  flowing  rapidly  through  waters  compara- 
tively tranquil,  as  the  Gulf  Stream.  Here  the  currents 
meet  and  unite;  there  they  are  superposed,  and  the 
upper  and  under  currents  run  in  opposite  directions. 
Everywhere  is  agitation;  nowhere  absolute  rest,  as 
unknown  to  nature  here  as  in  all  other  quarters. 

The  greater  part  of  the  causes,  to  say  nothing  of 
others  more  doubtful  which  it  would  be  useless  to 
mention  here,  often  act  in  concert  to  produce  marine 
currents ;  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  assign  to  each  of 
them  the  exact  portion  of  effect  belonging  to  it.  There 
is  one,  however,  which  seems  to  control  all  the  rest  by 
its  power  and  the  constancy  of  its  action,  direct  or 
indirect,  and  that  is  the  difference  of  temperature  be- 
tween the  regions  near  the  equator  and  those  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  poles.  Now,  since  the  general 
winds,  as  we  have  seen,  owe  their  origin  to  this  same 
cause,  we  shall  not  be  surprised  to  find  a  similarity,  and, 
in  some  cases,  a  remarkable  coincidence,  between  the 
march  of  the  great  atmospheric  currents  and  that  of  the 
general  currents  of  the  ocean.    For,  not  only  do  the 


190  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

winds  act  directly  on  the  currents  and  sweep  them 
forward  in  their  course,  but  the  same  forces  drive  them 
both  in  a  common  direction;  the  same  obstacles,  the 
continents,  check  their  onward  movement,  and  force 
them  to  swerve,  in  a  similar  manner,  from  their  original 
direction.  A  knowledge  of  the  one  will  facilitate  the 
understanding  of  the  others. 

The  most  general  fact  to  be  noted  here  is  the  existence 
of  the  great  equatorial  current,  as  it  has  been  agreed 
to  call  it,  which  seems  a  general  transfer  movement 
of  the  tropical  waters  from  east  to  west  all  round  the 
globe,  rather  than  a  current  properly  so  called.  This 
grand  phenomenon  did  not  escape  the  sagacity  of 
Columbus,  who  was  also  the  first  to  discover  it.  "It 
seems  beyond  a  doubt,77  said  he,  after  one  of  his  earliest 
voyages,  "  that  the  waters  of  the  ocean  move  with  the 
heavens;"  that  is,  in  the  direction  of  the  apparent 
course  of  the  sun  and  stars.  This  great  current  is 
analogous  to  the  trade  winds ;  it  has  ever  been  thought 
that  these  winds  were  the  principal  cause  of  it.  But  it 
is  too  deep  and  rapid  to  admit  of  being  explained  by 
their  action  alone. 

The  difference  of  temperature  between  the  tropical 
and  polar  seas,  and  the  loss  the  seas  of  the  warm 
regions  suffer  from  more  active  evaporation,  would 
be  a  still  more  profound  and  irresistible  cause.  The 
colder  and  heavier  waters  of  the  polar  regions  per- 
petually tend  to  flow  towards  the  warm  and  lighter 
waters  of  the  equator,  and  to  displace  them.  The  ex- 
istence of  these  polar  currents  is  demonstrated  by  the 
floating  masses  of  ice  which,  swept  on  by  the  waters 


THE  EQUATORIAL  CURRENT.  191 

whence  they  had  their  being,  accomplish  every  spring 
long  pilgrimages  towards  the  warmer  regions,  and  stray 
even  as  far  as  the  40°  of  latitude.  Like  the  atmospheric 
currents  setting  from  these  same  quarters,  they  occupy 
the  lower  part  of  the  domain  of  the  oceans,  while  the 
warm  waters  of  the  equator  spread  over  their  surface. 
Hence  the  astonishing  spectacle  of  those  majestic  ice- 
bergs, of  which  only  an  eighth  part  is  visible,  while  the 
rest  is  sunk  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  continuing  their 
solemn  progress  southward,  and,  on  meeting  the  Gulf 
Stream,  moving  on  in  a  direction  opposite  to  the  course 
of  its  waters,  proving  thus  that  the  waters  enveloping 
their  bases  pursue  without  obstruction  their  southward 
course.  The  polar  currents,  while  advancing  towards 
the  equatorial  regions,  gradually  make  a  bend  west- 
ward, like  the  winds,  under  the  influence  of  the  earth's 
rotation,  and  at  the  meeting  in  the  tropics  are  trans- 
formed into  a  vast  movement  from  east  to  west.  Add  to 
this  general  tendency  of  the  deep  waters,  the  direct  and 
constant  action  of  the  trade  winds  upon  their  surface, 
and  that  of  the  tides  acting  in  the  same  direction, 
and  the  cause  of  this  phenomenon  will  appear  to  you, 
if  not  fully  explained,  at  least  sufficiently  accounted 
for. 

The  grand  equatorial  current  is  still  more  disturbed 
than  the  trade  winds,  by  the  continents  arresting  their 
progress  and  causing  the  waters  to  flow  back  in  -vrery 
different  and  often  opposite  directions  to  their  origi- 
nal course.  Each  of  the  three  great  oceans  forming  a 
separate  basin,  and  presenting  a  collective  combination 
of  physical  circumstances  which  modify  the  march  of 


192  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

the  oceanic  currents  in  a  peculiar  manner,  we  proceed 
to  pass  them  in  review  successively,  beginning  with  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  whose  system  is  more  simple  than  that 
of  the  two  others.    (See  plate  i.) 

The  Pacific  Ocean,  owing  to  its  vast  extent,  gives 
full  and  unimpeded  sweep  to  the  general  currents  in  a 
more  regular  manner  than  either  of  the  others.  The 
Antarctic  polar  current,  bent  eastward  by  the  prevailing 
winds  of  these  regions,  strikes  the  western  coast  of 
America  between  50°  and  40°  south  latitude.  It  divides 
into  two  branches,  of  which  one  runs  southward, 
doubles  Cape  Horn,  and  carries  its  waters  on  to  the 
Atlantic.  The  second  and  principal  passes  along  the 
coast  of  Chili  and  Peru,  cooling  the  climate  by  the  loiv 
temperature  of  the  waters  it  bears,  which  are  from  10e 
to  12°  Centigrade,  or  from  18°  to  22°  Fahrenheit  colder 
than  the  neighboring  sea  off  Lima.  The  current,  to 
which  it  has  been  proposed,  on  good  grounds,  to  give 
the  name  of  Humboldt,  —  who  was  the  first  to  prove  its 
origin  and  abnormal  temperature,  —  suddenly  quits  the 
coast  near  the  height  of  Punta  Parina,  and  goes  on  to 
form  the  grand  equatorial  current. 

This  latter  occupies  a  breadth  of  nearly  50  degrees  on 
the  two  sides  of  the  equator,  and  passes  beyond  the  trop- 
ics, north  and  south.  It  follows  its  peaceful  and 
majestic  course,  unobstructed,  with  an  average  speed 
of  from  30  to  35  miles  a  day,  to  the  chain  of  islands 
that  fringe  the  continents  of  Asia  and  Australia.  On 
the  north  it  reaches  Formosa,  and,  running  upon  the 
coast  of  China,  turns  off  and  moves  to  the  north-east 
ilong  the  shores  of  Japan.    On  the  south,  it  is;  already 


CURRENTS  IN  THE  INDIAN  OCEAN. 


193 


disturbed  by  the  monsoons,  and  loses  its  way  in  the 
labyrinthine  mazes  of  the  grand  Asiatic  archipelago, 
whose  seas  heave  with  the  violent  currents  that  add 
further  to  the  dangers  of  navigation  in  these  stormy 
seas. 

In  the  northern  part  of  this  ocean,  the  west  winds 
reigning  there  determine  a  drift  current,  which  advances 
to  the  American  coasts  and  conducts  the  waters  south- 
ward along  the  shores  of  California,  whence  they 
doubtless  reenter  the  equatorial  current,  to  commence  a 
new  circuit. 

The  polar  currents  seem  to  be  almost  nothing.  The 
bank  or  neck,  which  in  all  probability  unites  the 
neighboring  points  of  the  continents  of  Asia  and  America 
under  the  waters  of  Behring's  Strait,  hinders  the  under 
currents  coming  from  the  pole  from  entering  this  basin, 
while  the  warmer  waters  of  the  Pacific  flow  on  the 
surface  into  the  Frozen  Ocean. 

In  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  equatorial  ^current,  like  the 
trade  wind,  is  broken.  In  the  region  of  the  monsoons, 
or  the  northern  region,  the  currents  follow  alternately 
the  direction  of  these  periodical  winds,  and  flow  with 
them  six  months  in  one  direction,  and  six  months  in 
another.  But  in  the  south,  where  the  trade  wind  re- 
tains its  empire,  the  normal  current  holds  its  way, 
narrows  as  it  approaches  Madagascar,  sweeps  north  of 
that  island,  and,  stemmed  by  the  coast  of  Africa,  enters 
the  channel  of  Mozambique. 

Compressed  into  this  narrow  passage,  it  acquires  the 
enormous  speed  of  four  or  five  miles,  an  hour,  and,  rein- 
forced south  of  Madagascar  by  another  branch,  reaches 
17 


194  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


in  its  rapid  course  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  the 
great  Needle  bank,  las  Lagullas,  the  borders  of  which 
it  follows  at  a  distance  from  the  coast.  Here  it  divides. 
One  part  encounters  the  current  setting  from  the  south- 
ern Atlantic,  and  with  it  reenters  the  Indian  Ocean. 
The  other  branch  doubles  the  Cape,  enters  the  Atlantic, 
and,  flowing  along  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  proceeds 
to  blend  its  waters  with  those  of  the  equatorial  current 
of  this  third  ocean. 

The  forms  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  so  characteristic, 
the  small  breadth  it  presents  in  the  region  of  the  equator, 
the  deep  windings  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  wherein  nearly  all  the  tropical  waters  of 
this  ocean  are  accumulated,  as  in  a  receptacle  having 
no  outlet,  give  to  its  currents  an  aspect  both  more 
marked  and  less  normal.  The  equatorial  current  does 
not  there  assume  its  customary  proportions,  while  the 
return  current,  the  Gulf  Stream,  is  exhibited  in  a  very 
unusual  manner.  These  are  the  two  salient  features 
necessary  to  study  first. 

The  equatorial  current  connects  itself  with  the  cur- 
rent of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  issuing  from  the  Indian 
Ocean.  Starting  from  the  coasts  of  Southern  Africa,  it 
soon  extends  both  sides  of  the  line,  widens  considerably, 
and  flows  across  the  ocean  at  the  rate  of  two  to  three 
miles  an  hour.  Having  reached  the  coasts  of  America 
at  Cape  Rocca,  it  divides,  one  branch  flowing  south- 
ward, along  the  coasts  of  Brazil,  and,  together  with  the 
waters  of  the  southern  basin,  resumes  the  route  of  the 
cape  and  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  other  and  principal 
branch  takes  a  west-north- west  direction,  rolls  its  waters 


THE  GULF  STREAM. 


195 


along  the  shores  of  Guyana,  enters  the  Caribbean  Sea, 
which  Rennel  calls  a  sea  in  motion,  rather  than  a 
current,  penetrates  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  making  its 
circuit,  and,  passing  before  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi, 
arrives  at  the  narrow  passage  between  the  point  of 
F'orida  and  the  Island  of  Cuba,  whence  it  comes  forth 
under  another  name. 

In  truth,  the  accumulated  and  moving  waters  of  the 
Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  are  the  inex- 
haustible source  of  that  torrent  of  warm  water,  which, 
under  the  name  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  precipitates  itself 
over  the  breakers  of  Bahama,  flows  along  the  coast  of 
Florida,  at  a  rate  varying  from  two  to  five  miles  an 
hour,  according  to  the  season,  and  keeps  on  its  way,  upon 
a  line  parallel  to  the  shore  at  a  short  distance  from  its 
margin,  until  it  passes  beyond  Cape  Hatteras.  The 
Stream,  hitherto  narrow,  deep,  and  rapid,  meets  in  this 
vicinity  the  cold  waters  from  the  north,  and  the  sand 
banks  running  along  at  a  distance  from  the  coasts  as  far 
as  the  southern  part  of  Newfoundland.  Repulsed  by 
these  obstacles,  it  makes  a  sudden  turn  to  the  east, 
becomes  much  broader,  spreads  over  the  surface,  and 
holds  henceforth  its  slackened  course  to  the  Azores, 
whence  it  bends  towards  the  south,  in  order  to  recom- 
mence from  the  coasts  of  Africa  the  immense  cycie  of 
its  never-ending  rotation. 

These  warm  waters  of  the  tropics  advance  northward 
even  beyond  the  limits  we  have  just  indicated.  Driven 
by  the  south-east  winds  prevailing  in  the  northern  Atlan- 
tic, they  proceed  to  bathe  the  coasts  of  the  North  of 
Europe,  the  temperature  of  which  they  soften,  and  often 


196  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

deposit  on  the  lonely  shores  of  Scotland  and  Norway  the 
plants  and  seeds  of  the  tropical  regions, — unanswer- 
able witnesses  of  their  distant  course. 

On  seeing  the  narrow  breadth  of  the  Gulf  Stream  from 
its  origin  to  Cape  Hatteras,  one  is  led  to  ask  how  it  can 
be  sufficient  to  cover  with  warm  water  the  immense 
surface  it  occupies  from  this  point  all  the  way  to  the 
Azores.  The  beautiful  explorations,  executed  under  the 
able  direction  of  Professor  Bache,  Superintendent  of  the 
Coast  Survey,  give  the  answer;  for  numerous  thermo- 
metrical  soundings  prove  that  off  this  cape  the  depth  of 
the  current  is  such,  that  at  3,000  feet  below  the  surface 
it  still  presents  nearly  the  same  differences  of  tempera- 
ture which  distinguish  it  from  the  surrounding  sea,  and 
clearly  mark  its  limits.  It  is  doubtless  these  deep  waters 
that  appear  at  the  surface  when  it  becomes  broad ;  for 
as  it  loses  in  speed,  the  warm  waters  are  free  to  ascend 
and  take  the  place  assigned  to  them  by  their  lesser 
density,  at  the  same  time  this  very  cause  favors  the 
accumulation  of  the  waters  in  the  part  of  the  current 
where  its  progress  is  slackened.  It  only  changes  form, 
and,  in  advancing,  must  lose  in  depth  what  it  gains  in 
width. 

The  polar  currents  of  the  Atlantic  are  perceptible 
chiefly  on  the  coasts  of  America.  Hudson's  and  Baffin's 
Bay  and  the  Sea  of  Greenland  pour  their  waters  and 
their  ice  along  the  eastern  coast  of  the  continent,  and 
contribute,  doubtless,  to  lower  the  temperature. 

Such  are  the  most  salient  features  of  the  vast  pic- 
ture presented  by  the  oscillations  of  the  ocean  waters. 
Although  we  have  merely  touched  upon  the  subject,  we 


OLD  WORLD  AND  NEW  WORLD. 


197 


know  already  enough,  I  believe,  to  be  convinced  that,  if 
the  causes  of  these  movements  flow,  for  the  most  part, 
from  the  general  laws  regulating  the  physical  constitu- 
tion of  the  globe,  their  evolutions,  and  the  special  and 
individual  characters  they  assume  in  each  ocean,  are 
an  immediate  result  of  the  configuration  and  disposi- 
tion of  the  terrestrial  masses  forming  the  basin  of  the 
seas. 

The  great  oceanic  currents  are  one  of  the  grandest 
phenomena  presented  by  the  wise  economy  of  nature. 
Their  extent,  the  prodigious  length  of  their  course,  in 
some  nearly  equal  to  the  circumference  of  the  globe,  fill 
us  with  astonishment,  and  leave  far  behind  everything 
of  this  description  to  be  seen  in  the  water  courses  of  the 
continents.  Owing  to  these  permanent  streams,  the  sea 
waters  mingle  from  pole  to  pole,  and  move  with  sleep- 
less flow  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  from 
this  to  the  Atlantic ;  and  this  unending  agitation  pre- 
serves their  healthfulness  and  purity. 

Like  the  winds,  the  currents  tend  to  equalize  differ- 
ences, to  soften  extremes.  The  cold  waters  of  the 
Antarctic  pole  temper  the  scorching  heats  of  the  coast 
of  Peru ;  the  warm  waters  of  the  Gulf  Stream  lessen 
the  severity  of  the  climate  of  Norway  and  the  British 
islands.  Their  importance  is  no  less  in  the  relations  of 
the  people  and  the  commerce  of  the  nations.  It  is  the 
currents  which,  together  with  the  winds,  trace  the  great 
lines  of  communication  upon  the  highways  of  the  oceans, 
favoring  or  obstructing  the  intercourse  of  one  country 
with  another,  bringing  near  together  places  apparently 
the  most  remote,  separating  others  that  seem  to  touch 
17* 


198 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


each  other.  Their  importance  in  nature  and  history 
cannot  fail  to  impress  the  minds  of  all. 

We  abandon  the  ocean,  and  shall,  henceforth,  occupy 
ourselves  only  with  the  continental  masses.  To  study 
them  better  in  their  analogies  and  their  differences,  to 
detect  their  true  character,  we  shall  consider  them  suc- 
cessively in  their  natural  groups,  under  two  different 
points  of  view,  which  we  have  already  indicated ;  I 
mean  as  the  Old  World  and  the  New,  then  as  the 
Northern  and  Southern  continents.  Let  us  begin  with 
the  contrast  of  the  Old  World  and  the  New. 

The  most  prominent  feature  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
continents  is,  in  fact,  the  grouping  of  the  two  Americas 
in  one  hemisphere,  and  that  of  the  four  others  in  another 
hemisphere.  This  division  of  the  continents  into  two 
worlds  is  so  evident  from  the  first  glance,  and  is  at  the 
same  time  so  convenient  in  practice,  that  it  has  passed 
into  common  speech  as  one  of  those  observations  admit- 
ting no  contradiction. 

But  to  bring  out  prominently  the  contrast  of  these 
two  worlds,  they  must  be  studied  more  in  detail  than  we 
have  thus  far  done :  we  must  compare  them,  in  order  to 
deduce,  by  the  comparison  itself,  the  special  character 
of  each.  This  is  what  we  are  going  to  attempt.  We 
have  already  seen  that  they  differ  in  the  forms  of  their 
relief  and  in  their  climate  ;  we  shall  further  see  that 
these  fundamental  differences  produce  analogous  effects 
in  the  organized  beings,  and  in  the  entire  physical  life  of 
each  of  the  two  worlds.  Finally,  we  shall  speak  of  the 
manner  in  which  they  act  upon  each  other,  and  seem,  by 


OLD  WORLD  AND  NEW  WORLD. 


19& 


their  very  nature,  destined  not  to  live  isolated,  but  to 
form  together  a  single  organism,  a  grand  harmony. 

During  the  whole  of  this  study,  please  to  remember, 
gentlemen,  we  are  in  the  realm  of  nature,  and  not 
in  that  of  history.  The  America  we  are  seeking  to  un- 
derstand is  that  which  Columbus  and  his  successors  dis- 
covered, still  entirely  a  virgin  world,  centuries  ago  ;  and 
not  the  New  World  of  history,  we  shall  have  to  speak 
of  later,  that  has  come  to  plant  itself  on  that  soil. 

A  general  comparison  of  the  two  groups  of  continents 
will  call  to  mind  some  of  the  leading  features  we  have 
already  become  acquainted  with,  and  add  some  others. 

The  Old  World  and  the  New  World  differ  in  the 
groupings,  and  in  the  number  and  extent  of  the  conti- 
nents composing  them ;  in  their  astronomical  situation, 
with  respect  to  the  climatic  zones ;  in  the  general  direc- 
tion of  their  lands;  in  their  interior  structure.  This 
assemblage  of  opposite  characters  secures  to  each  of 
them  a  climate,  a  vegetation,  and  an  animal  kingdom, 
peculiarly  their  own. 

I  say,  first,  in  their  groupings  :  — 

The  Old  World  is  composed  of  four  continents.  Set- 
ting aside  Australia,  which  is  only  an  island  in  the  midst 
of  the  oceanic  hemisphere,  it  numbers  three,  all  very  near 
each  other,  aggregated,  and  forming  an  oval,  compact 
mass,  whose  extent  far  surpasses  that  of  every  other 
terrestrial  space.  It  presents  a  solid  extent  of  land,  the 
most  vast,  the  most  unbroken,  the  least  accessible  in  its 
centre  to  the  influences  of  the  Ocean.  The  Old  World 
is  preeminently  the  continental  world. 

The  New  World  has  only  two  continents,  North  Amer- 


200  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

ica  and  South  America,  America  and  Columbia,  as  I 
should  like  to  call  them  —  to  render  justice  where  right 
belongs — if  it  were  not  forbidden  to  change  names  con- 
secrated by  long  usage.  These  two  continents  are  not 
grouped  in  one  mass,  nor  placed  side  by  side,  but  sepa- 
rated from  each  other,  not  touching  upon  their  long 
sides,  but  by  their  exterior  angles,  standing  in  line, 
rather  than  grouped.  They  are  situated  in  two  opposite 
Hemispheres,  and  thus  more  distant  from  each  other, 
apparently,  and  less  neighboring. 

The  result  of  this  remarkable  disposition  is  that  nar- 
row, lengthened,  slender  form  we  see  in  the  New  World. 
No  portion  of  the  interior  is  very  remote  from  the  sea- 
coasts  ;  everywhere  it  gives  access  to  the  influences  of 
the  ocean,  in  the  midst  of  which  it  is  placed,  like  a  long 
island.  This  form  already,  contrasted  with  that  of  the 
Old  World,  gives  to  it  its  character.  The  New  World  is 
essentially  oceanic. 

The  astronomical  position,  relatively  to  the  climatic 
zone,  is  also  not  the  same  in  the  two  worlds. 

The  Old  World  is,  as  it  were,  crowded  back  upon  the 
north  of  the  equator ;  it  belongs,  for  the  most  part,  to 
the  northern  hemisphere  and  to  the  temperate  zone.  Of 
the  three  principal  continents  composing  it,  the  two 
whose  importance  is  by  far  the  greatest,  Europe  and 
Asia,  are  temperate.  Asia  penetrates  the  torrid  regions 
only  by  the  southern  peninsulas;  Europe  at  no  point; 
Australia  is  sub-tropical;  Africa  only  is  truly  tropical. 
Even  if  we  take  in  the  last  two  continents,  more  than 
two  thirds  of  the  lands  are  situated  in  the  temperate 
regions,  one  third  only  in  the  equatorial  regions.  The 
<^]d  World  is  then  essentially  temperate 


DIRECTION  OF  THE  LANDS. 


201 


In  the  New  World  the  lands  are  distributed  in  a  man- 
ner nearly  equal  in  the  two  zones  and  in  the  two  hemi- 
spheres. We  find  that  the  countries  it  includes,  those 
the  most  richly  endowed,  are  situated  under  the  sun 
of  the  tropics.  Compared  with  the  Old  World,  the  New 
World  is  thus  essentially  tropical. 

The  general  direction  of  the  lands,  or  the  direction  in 
which  their  length  extends,  is  the  inverse  in  the  two 
worlds.  The  Old  World  has  its  greatest  prolongation 
from  east  to  west,  in  the  line  of  the  parallels ;  the  New 
World  from  north  to  south,  in  the  direction  of  the  merid- 
ians. Both  have  a  length  of  about  7,500  miles,  but  the 
breadth  of  the  Old  World  is  nearly  double  that  of  the 
New.  This  disposition  is  of  the  greater  consequence  for 
the  distribution  of  the  climates  in  each  of  them,  since 
this  configuration  coincides,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the 
interior  structure,  with  the  direction  of  the  principal 
mountain  chains,  and  of  the  table  lands.  From  one  end 
to  the  other  of  the  Old  World,  over  a  space  of  several 
thousand  miles,  the  migratory  tribes  are  able  to  pursue 
their  adventurous  roaming  course  by  following,  accord- 
ing to  their  custom,  the  great  features  of  relief  of  the 
soil,  without  witnessing  any  change  in  the  vegetation  or 
the  animals  that  surround  them.  They  change  place, 
but  not  climate,  nor  ways  of  life.  This  similarity  of 
climates  over  long  spaces  is,  then,  a  property  of  the  Old 
World,  and  must  have  singularly  favored  the  dispersion 
of  the  primitive  tribes. 

In  the  New  World,  on  the  contrary,  the  zones  of 
similar  climates  are  short  and  numerous;  and  if  we 
trave  over  the  whole  length  of  the  two  Americas,  we 


202  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

pass  twice  in  succession  through  all  the  temperatures, 
from  the  frozen  climate  of  the  poles  to  that  of  the  equator, 
and  from  the  burning  climate  of  the  equator  to  that  of 
the  poles.  This  diversity  of  climate  gives  their  char- 
acter to  the  Americas. 

Meantime,  the  interior  structure  modifies  these  climatic 
relations  in  the  two  worlds,  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
correct  the  uniformity  of  climate  in  the  Old  by  more 
marked  contrasts,  and  the  too  great  diversity  of  the 
New,  by  gentler  and  better  graduated  transitions.  We 
shall  see  this  as  we  proceed  to  a  closer  examination  of 
the  structure  of  the  two  Americas,  which  will  particu- 
larly occupy  us  this  evening. 

The  maps  we  shall  make  use  of  in  this  inquiry, 
these  you  see  before  you,  require  perhaps  some  explana- 
tion. They  are  intended  to  enable  the  eye  to  take  in 
by  a  single  glance  the  different  elevations  of  relief;  we 
see  here  the  low  plains,  the  table  lands,  and  the  moun- 
tains, each  indicated  by  a  particular  color.  (See  plate  i.) 
I  need  not  call  your  attention  to  the  usefulness  of  substi- 
tuting, in  teaching  geography,  such  physical  maps,  for 
the  flat  and  perfectly  unmeaning  charts  found  in  the 
common  atlas. 

What  characterizes  the  interior  structure  of  the  New 
World  is  its  simplicity.  In  place  of  the  variety  of  the 
Old  World,  where,  in  spite  of  a  few  general  features 
common  to  both,  each  continent  is,  as  it  were,  cast  in 
a  separate  mould,  the  two  Americas  seem  absolutely 
formed  upon  the  same  plan.  This  plan  may  be  sketched 
out  in  a  few  lines.  Two  triangles,  their  vertices  turned 
to  the  south,  one  situated  north-west  of  the  other;  the 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD. 


203 


long  cord  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  of  the  Andes, 
running  the  length  of  the  extreme  western  coast,  and 
binding  the  two  continents  together ;  great  plains  on  the 
east,  forming  the  larger  part  of  their  surface  ;  a  slightly- 
elevated  chain  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  both,  the  Alle- 
ghanies  in  North  America,  the  Serra  do  Espinha<jo  and 
the  Serra  do  Mar  of  Brazil,  in  South  America;  finally,  in 
the  centre,  three  short,  transverse  chains,  that  of  Parime 
in  the  Guyanas,  that  of  Venezuela,  and  that  of  the  great 
Antilles,  broken  into  a  number  of  islands;  —  these,  in  a 
few  words,  are  all  the  essential  features  of  this  vast 
division  of  the  world. 

That  which  constitutes  the  richness  of  organization  in 
the  continents,  is  the  number  and  abundance  of  internal 
contrasts  calling  out  at  once  the  activity  of  nature  and 
that  of  man.  The  Old  World  is  full  of  them ;  America 
has  only  a  small  number,  all  tending  to  disappear  by 
reason  of  the  structure  itself. 

Thus,  in  Asia  and  Europe,  the  line  of  the  highest 
lands,  the  continental  axis,  extending  from  the  Him- 
alaya to  the  Alps  and  the  Pyrenees,  divides  these  two 
continents  into  two  unequal  parts,  one  north  and  one 
south,  opposite  in  climate,  in  vegetation,  and  even  in 
races.  Scarcely  anywhere  is  the  transition  from  one  to 
the  other  gradual ;  almost  everywhere  it  is  abrupt  and 
sudden.  The  table  lands  6f  Tubet  and  frigid  Mongolia 
touch  the  tropical  plains  of  China  and  of  the  Indies ;  the 
traveller  who  passes  the  Alps,  abandons  the  severe  land- 
scapes and  the  firs  of  the  North,  to  descend,  by  a  single 
day's  journey,  into  the  ever  verdant  gardens  and  the 
orange  groves  of  fair  Italy  ;  he  exchanges  the  cold  mists 


204  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

of  the  North  for  the  sun  of  the  South,  and  often  leaves 
on  one  side  the  snows  and  frosts  of  winter,  to  find  on 
the  other  the  warm  breath  of  spring,  its  verdure  and  its 
flowers. 

This  striking  contrast  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  reflected  in  the  character  and  history  of  all  the 
nations  of  Asia  and  Europe,  is  doubtless  found  in 
America ;  it  is  perhaps  too  well  known  in  this 
country.  But  in  nature  it  is  almost  effaced;  is  soft- 
ened down.  It  does  not  form  a  barrier;  nowhere 
presents  an  abrupt  change ;  nowhere  breaks  the  unity. 
On  account  of  the  continued  plains  of  the  continent,  we 
see  the  natural  character  of  the  North  gradually  melt 
into  that  of  the  South.  Between  the  shores  of  the 
Frozen  Ocean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  lies  the  whole 
distance  from  the  icy  regions  to  the  tropics.  But 
it  is  only  slowly,  and  over  long  spaces,  that  we  pass 
through  the  transition.  From  the  treeless  polar  plains, 
where  flows  the  Mackenzie  River,  whose  sole  covering 
is  the  mosses  and  the  lichens,  we  pass  only  by  degrees 
to  the  coniferous  forests  of  Lake  Superior;  then  to  the 
oaklands  of  Wisconsin ;  the  walnuts,  hickories,  and  the 
chestnuts  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky  next  appear ;  further 
south,  the  magnolia  and  the  palmetto  already  herald  the 
air  of  the  tropics  and  the  neighborhood  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Two  thousand  four  hundred  miles  separate 
the  extremes  of  this  scale  of  vegetation,  which  almost 
touch  each  other  in  the  Himalaya. 

It  is,  moreover,  to  these  vast  plains,  offering  no 
obstacles  to  the  dissemination  of  the  species,  and  to  the 
absence  of  great  chains  from  east  to  west,  that  we 


CONTRAST  OF  EAST  AND  WEST. 


205 


undoubtedly  owe  the  appearance,  at  the  North,  of  plants 
and  animals  that  seem  to  belong  only  to  the  tropical 
regions.  Not  without  surprise,  the  European,  landing 
on  these  shores,  sees  the  humming-bird,  that  diamond 
of  the  tropics,  glancing  in  the  sun  in  a  country  which 
winter  clothes,  during  long  months,  in  a  thick  mantle 
of  snow  and  ice. 

It  is  the  same  towards  the  South,  where  we  see  the 
palm  trees  and  the  parrots  of  the  tropics,  here  and  there, 
as  far  as  the  Pampas  of  Buenos  Ayres,  much  beyond 
their  natural  limits. 

Thus  the  contrast  between  the  North  and  the  South 
is  softened,  reduced :  but  it  is  not  annihilated ;  it  exists 
on  a  great  scale  from  one  of  the  continents  to  the  other : 
for  North  America  is  temperate,  and  South  America  is 
tropical. 

America  is  cut  by  the  Andes  into  two  parts,  East  and 
West,  as  Asia  and  Europe  are  cut  into  two  parts,  North 
and  South.  But  this  contrast  likewise  is  almost  neu- 
tralized, as  we  shall  soon  understand. 

The  inequality  is  here  carried  to  the  extreme,  to  such 
a  reduction  of  one  of  the  parts,  that  it  loses  its  impor- 
tance, and,  so  to  speak,  its  power  of  reaction.  The 
western  coast,  dry  and  barren,  has  not  extent  and 
influence  enough  to  enter  upon  an  effective  rivalry  with 
the  vast  countries  of  the  East.  Moreover,  the  difficulty 
of  communication  renders  the  mutual  action  and  the 
intercourse  between  the  countries  situated  at  the  foot  of 
the  two  inclinations,  still  more  rare.  Finally,  the  two 
sides  of  the  Andes,  being  under  the  same  latitudes,  havi^ 
the  same,  or  nearly  the  same,  climate,  and  differ  merely 
18 


206 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


in  the  degree  of  moisture  or  dryness  falling  to  their  por- 
tion. The  West  of  the  two  Americas  is  only  a  narrow 
strip,  not  to  be  compared  with  the  great  plains  of  the 
East  occupying  nearly  the  entire  continent,  and  giving 
it  its  character. 

America  is  then  less  rich  in  internal  contrasts  than 
the  Old  World,  but  has  more  of  unity,  because  it 
is  more  simple.  Undoubtedly,  in  this  uniformity  of 
structure,  in  this  absence  of  obstacles  to  a  free  circula- 
tion from  end  to  end  of  this  world,  we  are  to  look  for 
one  of  the  principal  causes  of  that  common  character, 
of  that  American  physiognomy,  which  strikes  us  in  aK 
the  organized  beings  of  this  continent,  and  which  we 
find  again  in  man  himself,  in  the  Indian,  all  the  tribes 
of  whom,  from  the  banks  of  the  Mackenzie  River  to 
Patagonia,  have  the  same  coppery  tint  and  a  family 
likeness  in  the  features,  impossible  to  mistake. 

The  climate  of  the  New  World,  compared  with  that 
of  the  Old,  is  distinguished  by  the  abundance  of  pluvial 
waters,  in  general,  by  a  greater  humidity.  We  have 
seen  in  what  manner  this  phenomenon  is  the  conse- 
quence of  its  narrow  and  lengthened  form;  of  the 
opening  of  the  great  plains — that  is,  of  the  two  con- 
tinents almost  entire — to  the  winds  of  the  sea;  of  the 
absence  of  high  mountains  in  the  East ;  in  a  word,  of 
the  configuration  and  general  exposure  of  this  part  of 
the  globe.  While  the  Old  World,  with  its  compact 
figure,  its  vast  plateaus,  its  high  lands  in  the  East, 
receives  only  an  average  of  77  inches  of  water  by  the 
year  under  the  tropics,  America  receives  115  inches. 


RIVERS  OF  AMERICA. 


207 


The  temperate  regions  of  Europe  have  34  inches ;  North 
America,  39  inches. 

Add  to  this  abundance  of  water,  the  extent  of  plains 
permitting  the  development  of  vast  systems  of  water 
courses,  and  you  will  understand  the  existence  of 
that  innumerable  multitude  of  rivers  and  lakes,  which 
are  one  of  the  most  characteristic  features  of'  the 
two  Americas.  Notwithstanding  a  much  smaller  ex- 
tent than  that  of  the  Old  World,  the  New  possesses 
the  largest  rivers  on  the  earth;  the  richest  in  waters, 
those  whose  basins  occupy  the  broadest  areas.  Where 
can  we  find,  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  a  river  equal 
to  the  mighty  Maranon,  that  giant  among  the  rivers 
of  the  earth,  gathering  its  waters  from  a  surface  of  a 
million  and  a  half  square  miles,  and  bearing  them  to 
the  ocean,  after  a  course  of  3,000  miles  ?  This  mighty 
monarch  receives  in  his  progress  the  homage  of  tributa- 
ries, each  of  which,  by  its  greatness  and  the  abundance 
of  its  waters,  would  suffice  for  the  wants  of  a  whole 
vast  country.  Such  are  the  Ucayale,  the  Rio  Purus, 
the  Rio  Negro,  above  all  the  Madera,  rivalling  in 
importance  the  river  to  which  it  yields  the  honor  of 
giving  a  name  to  their  united  waters.  The  further  it 
advances  in  its  majestic  course,  the  more  its  proportions 
increase;  and  before  arriving  at  the  ocean,  its  broad 
sheet,  from  the  middle  of  which  the  eye  cannot  reach 
the  banks,  seems  rather  to  be  a  fresh-water  sea,  flowing 
sluggishly  towards  the  ocean  basin,  than  a  river  of  the 
continent.  Far  from  its  mouth,  the  fresh  and  muddy 
waters  of  the  Amazon  are  still  distinguished  at  a  glance 
of  the  eye  from  the  saline  and  limpid  waves  of  the 


208  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

ocean ;  and  the  slime,  borne  along  by  their  currents, 
goes  to  form,  further  north,  a  new  soil  on  the  shores  of 
the  continent. 

In  the  other  continent,  the  Father  of  Waters,  the 
mighty  Mississippi,  the  second  of  the  rivers  of  the  earth, 
equals  in  length  the  Maranon  itself;  for  its  winding 
course  is  3,000  miles.  But  its  basin  covers  only  from 
8  to  900,000  square  miles.  Who  does  not  know  the 
importance  of  tributaries  like  the  Missouri,  which 
wrongly  gives  up  its  name  for  that  of  its  less  powerful 
brother ;  like  the  Ohio,  the  Beautiful  River,  the  stream 
with  transparent  waters;  like  the  Arkansas,  and  so 
many  others  composing  that  vast  system  of  arteries 
that  vivify  the  whole  West,'  and  are  destined  to 
assume  daily  a  greater  and  greater  importance  ?  And 
these  immense  rivers  are  not  isolated.  At  the  side 
of  the  Maranon,  the  La  Plata  has  a  course  of  not 
less  than  1,900  miles,  and  more  than  a  million  of 
square  miles  send  into  it  their  waters.  At  the  side  of 
the  Mississippi,  the  St.  Lawrence  has  a  course  of 
1,800  miles,  and  a  basin  of  nearly  a  million  of  square 
miles. 

The  Old  World  offers  nothing  similar.  The  great- 
est of  its  rivers,  the  Yan-tse-Kiang  in  China,  has  a 
course  of  only  2,500  miles.  The  Ganges  and  the 
Nile  are  far  from  equalling  it.  The  Volga,  the  great- 
est of  the  rivers  of  Europe,  exhibits  a  course  of  only 
1,700  miles,  and  if  it  were  necessary  to  enumerate 
in  America  rivers  like  the  Rhine,  so  celebrated,  it 
would  be  almost  by  the  hundred  that  we  should  have 
to  cite  them. 


THE  NEW  WORLD  THE  BEST  WATERED.  209 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  abundance  of  its  lakes  ? 
The  group  of  the  great  lakes  of  Canada,  so  character- 
istic of  North  America,  nowhere  finds  a  parallel.  It 
contains  at  once  the  largest  lakes  in  the  world,  and 
the  greatest  mass  of  fresh  water  united  on  the  surface 
of  the  continents.  These  vast  fresh  water  seas, 
together  with  the  St.  Lawrence,  cover  a  surface  of 
nearly  100,000  square  miles,  and  it  has  been  calculated 
that  they  contain  almost  one  half  of  all  the  fresh  waters 
on  the  surface  of  our  planet.  They,  too,  are  not  alone, 
and  a  glance  of  the  eye  at  the  map  enables  us  to 
perceive  in  the  North  a  multitude  of  lakes  but  little 
inferior  in  extent  :  the  lake  Athapescow,  Winnipeg, 
Slave  Lake,  the  Great  Bear,  are  worthy  to  figure 
side  by  side  with  the  lakes  of  Canada  and  of  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

The  rivers  and  the  lakes  are  the  wealth,  and  justly 
form  the  boast,  of  America.  No  continent  possesses 
so  great  a  number,  or  those  of  such  large  extent,  so 
well  supplied  with  water,  so  navigable.  Not  only  do 
they  fertilize  the  rich  countries  they  traverse,  but  they 
are  now,  and  will  become  still  more  so,  the  great  high- 
ways of  commerce  between  all  the  parts  of  this  vast 
world ;  we  already  see  enough  to  hope  everything  of 
the  future. 

Thus,  gentlemen,  the  watery  element  reigns  in  the 
New  World ;  add  to  this,  that  half  of  its  lands  are 
exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  tropical  sun,  but  that,  all  the 
conditions  being  equal,  America  is,  on  the  whole,  a  little 
less  warm  than  the  Old  World,  and  we  shall  have  the 
essential  features  of  its  climate.  The  oceanic  climate  — 
18* 


210  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

this  is  what  America  owes  to  the  fundamental  forms 
and  the  relative  disposition  of  its  lands ;  while  the  Old 
World  is  indebted  to  it  for  the  preponderance  of  the  dry 
and  continental  climate. 

Let  us  now  follow  out  the  consequences  of  these 
physical  circumstances  upon  the  development  of  organic 
beings,  and  the  character  of  the  New  World  will  come 
out  in  all  its  clearness. 

The  warm  and  the  moist — these  are  the  most  favor- 
able conditions  for  the  production  of  an  exuberant 
vegetation.  Now,  the  vegetable  covering  is  nowhere  so 
general,  the  vegetation  so  predominant,  as  in  the  two 
Americas.  Behold,  under  the  same  parallel,  where 
Africa  presents  only  parched  table  lands,  those  bound- 
less virgin  forests  of  the  basin  of  the  Amazon,  those 
selvas,  almost  unbroken,  over  a  length  of  more  than 
1,500  miles,  forming  the  most  gigantic  wilderness  of  this 
kind  that  exists  in  any  continent.  And  what  vigor, 
what  luxuriance  of  vegetation !  The  palm  trees,  with 
their  slender  forms,  calling  to  mind  that  of  America 
itself,  boldly  uplift  their  heads  150  or  200  feet  above 
the  ground,  and  domineer  over  all  the  other  trees  of 
these  wilds,  by  their  height,  by  their  number,  and  by 
the  majesty  of  their  foliage.  Innumerable  shrubs  and 
trees  of  smaller  height  fill  up  the  space  that  separates 
their  trunks;  climbing  plants,  woody-stemmed  twining 
lianos,  infinitely  varied,  surround  them  both  with  their 
flexible  branches,  display  their  own  flowers  upon  the 
foliage,  and  combine  them  in  a  solid  mass  of  vegetation, 
impenetrable  to  man,  which  the  axe  alone  can  break 
through  with  success.    On  the  bosom  of  their  peaceful 


THE  VEGETATION  IS  PREDOMINANT. 


211 


waters  swims  the  Victoria,  the  elegant  rival  of  the 
Rafflesia,  that  odorous  and  gigantic  water  lily,  whose 
white  and  rosy  corolla,  fifteen  inches  in  diameter,  rises 
with  dazzling  brilliancy  from  the  midst  of  a  train  of 
immense  leaves,  softly  spread  upon  the  waves,  a  single 
one  covering  a  space  of  six  feet  in  width.  The  rivers 
rolling^  their  tranquil  waters  under  verdurous  domes,  in 
the  bosom  of  these  boundless  wilds,  are  the  only  paths 
nature  has  opened  to  the  scattered  inhabitants  of  these 
rich  solitudes.  Elsewhere,  in  Mexico  and  Yucatan, 
an  invading  vegetation  permits  not  even  the  works  of 
man  to  endure;  and  the  monuments  of  a  civilization 
comparatively  ancient,  which  the  antiquary  goes  to 
investigate  with  care,  are  soon  changed  into  a  mountain 
of  verdure,  or  demolished,  stone  after  stone,  by  the 
plants  piercing  into  their  chinks,  vigorously  pushing 
aside,  and  breaking  with  irresistible  force,  all  the  ob- 
stacles that  oppose  their  rapid  growth. 

South  America,  and  particularly  the  basin  of  the 
Amazon,  is  the  true  kingdom  of  the  palm  trees ;  no- 
where does  this  noble  form  of  vegetation  show  itself 
under  a  greater  number  of  species.  This  is  a  sign  of 
the  preponderating  development  of  leaves  over  every 
other  part  of  the  vegetable  growth ;  of  that  expansion 
of  foliage,  of  that  leafiness,.  peculiar  to  warm  and 
moist  climates.  America  has  no  plants  with  slender, 
shrunken  leaves,  like  those  of  Africa  and  New  Holland. 
The  Ericas,  or  heather,  so  common,  so  varied,  so 
characteristic  of  the  flora  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  is 
a  form  unknown  to  the  New  World.  There  is  nothing 
resembling  those  Metrosideri  of  Africa,  those  dry  Myr- 


212  1    COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

ties  (Eucalyptus)  and  willow-leaved  acacias,  whose 
flowers  shine  with  the  liveliest  colors,  but  their  nar- 
row foliage,  turned  edgewise  to  the  vertical  sun,  casts 
no  shadow.  Everywhere,  long  and  abundant  leaves, 
an  intense  verdure,  a  strong  and  well-nurtured  vegeta- 
tion, these  are  what  we  find  in  tropical  America. 

North  America,  in  spite  of  its  more  continental  cli- 
mate, shares  no  less  in  this  character  of  the  New  World. 
The  beauty  and  extent  of  the  vast  forests  that  cover  its 
soil,  the  variety  of  the  arborescent  species  composing 
them,  the  strong  and  lofty  stature  of  the  trees  growing 
there,  all  these  are  too  well  known  for  me  to  stop  to 
describe  them.  It  is  because  this  continent  adds  to  a 
more  abundant  irrigation  a  soil  slightly  mountainous, 
almost  everywhere  fertile,  securing  to  it  always  an 
equal  moisture,  a  more  abundant  harvest  of  all  the 
vegetables  useful  to  man. 

Not  only  is  the  vegetation  abundant  in  the  New 
World,  but  it  is  universal,  and  this  is  a  further  charac- 
teristic distinguishing  it  from  the  Old.  We  do  not  see 
there  those  vast  deserts,  so  common  in  the  other  con- 
tinents, and  occupying  a  considerable  portion  of  their 
surface.  The  deserts  of  California  and  that  of  Atacama 
are  exceptions,  and,  compared  with  those  of  Africa  and 
Asia,  scarcely  seem  made  for  anything  except  to  serve 
as  specimens.  The  llanos  of  Orinoco,  which  their  geo- 
logical nature  dooms  apparently  to  the  fate  of  Sahara, 
are  copiously  watered  during  the  rainy  season,  and  are 
covered  then  with  an  admirable  vegetation.  Life, 
which  seemed  almost  to  slumber,  almost  extinguished, 
springs  up  again  more  beautiful  and  more  vigorous. 


ANIMAL  LIFE  OVERRULED. 


213 


To  the  powdered  sand,  swept  along  by  the  winds, 
succeed  rich  pastures,  where  range  a  multitude  of 
indigenous  animals,  mingled  with  herds  of  horses,  and 
wild  asses,  coming  from  Europe;  and  thousands  of 
reptiles,  buried  in  the  watery  slime  during  the  dry 
season,  reappear,  and  fill  again  with  life  the  temporary 
rivers  and  lakes  with  which  these  valleys  are  then  over- 
flowing. The  pampas  themselves  are  not  without 
vegetation,  and  support  at  all  times  numerous  herds. 
And  who  is  ignorant  that  the  endless  prairies  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  the  Missouri  produce  every  year  an  abun- 
dant vegetation,  on  which  feed  the  bisons  and  the  other 
wild  tenants  of  the  countries  1 

But  what  becomes  of  the  animal  in  the  peculiar 
kingdom  of  vegetation?  Blessings  are  divided;  all 
treasures  belong  not  to  one  country  alone.  This  luxu- 
riant vegetation,  it  might  be  said,  seems  to  stifle  the 
higher  life,  in  the  animal  world.  Animal  life  is,  as  it 
were,  overruled,  enfeebled;  it  does  not  occupy  here  the 
first  rank,  which  is  its  due ;  for  it  is  dry  heat,  the  con- 
tinental element,  that  favors  it. 

From  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  animal  scale,  the 
families  that  seem  to  give  to  these  countries  their 
character,  by  the  number  of  their  species  and  by  their 
relative  abundance,  are  those  connecting  themselves, 
by  their  mode  of  life,  with  the  aqueous,  or  with  the  veg- 
etative element. 

Hence,  nothing  is  more  splendid,  more  sparkling, 
than  the  insect  world  in  South  America.  The  inex- 
haustible variety  of  their  species,  the  brilliancy  of  their 
colors,  the  size  of  their  bodies,  make  them  one  of  the 


214  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

most  beautiful  ornaments  of  these  regions.  Here  live 
the  Hercules  beetle,  the  largest  of  the  Coleoptera ;  and 
those  brilliant  broad- winged  butterflies,  the  Mene- 
laus,  the  Adonis,  the  Achilles,  whose  varying  colors 
glitter  in  the  sun  like  diamonds.  But  why  be  aston- 
ished? The  existence  of  this  little  animal  world  is 
almost  altogether  dependent  on  the  vegetation ;  the 
wealth  of  the  one  must  create  the  wealth  of  the  other. 

Among  the  vertebrates,  no  family  is  so  largely  repre- 
sented as  that  of  the  reptiles,  for  moisture  is  their  ele- 
ment, and  the  rivers  and  temporary  lagoons  of  the  rainy 
season  are  peopled  with  Caimans,  the  crocodiles  of  the 
New  World;  the  Iguanas,  the  most  gigantic  of  the 
lizards ;  the  Basilisks  and  other  species,  which  multiply 
in  the  warm  and  sluggish  waters.  The  forests  harbor 
in  great  numbers  those  serpents  of  every  form  and 
figure,  even  to  those  monstrous  boas,  that  are  the 
terror  of  the  natives  themselves.  They  seem  to  be  at 
home  in  this  country. 

But  among  the  superior  animals,  development  seems 
to  be  arrested;  it  is  incomplete.  The  prevailing  types 
are  at  the  same  time  the  inferior  types.  Among  the 
birds,  the  stilt-plovers,  inhabitants  of  the  marshes  and 
the  shores,  of  which  the  number  of  species  far  surpasses, 
in  America,  that  of  any  other  continent.  In  the  mam- 
mifera,  the  order  of  Edentata,  the  Armadillos,  the  Pan- 
golins, the  Ant-eaters,  the  Sloths,  which  characterize, 
more  than  any  other  family,  the  fauna  of  South  Amer- 
ica, not  only  in  the  present  epoch,  but  also  in  the 
geological  ages.  And  if  we  seek  representatives  of  the 
higher  orders,  we  find  them  less  numerous  in  species 


INFLUENCE  UPON  MAN. 


215 


smaller  in  size ;  in  a  word,  far  inferior  to  the  correspond- 
ing animals  of  the  Old  World;  in  the  order  of  the 
Pachyderms,  instead  of  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros, 
the  hippopotamus,  those  giants  of  the  Old  World,  the 
feeble  and  harmless  tapir  and  the  pecari ;  in  the  Rumi- 
nants, instead  of  the  camel  and  the  dromedary,  the 
lama  of  the  Andes,  which  reach  only  half  their  size  ; 
instead  of  the  lordly  lion  of  Africa,  and  the  ferocious 
tiger  of  the  islands  of  the  Ganges,  the  ounce  and  the 
jaguars  of  the  forests  of  Brazil,  which  are  scarcely  more 
than  large  cats.  In  the  monkey*,  finally,  those  with  a 
prehensile  tail,  peculiar  to  America,  are  reckoned  among 
the  least  perfect,  the  lowest  of  their  order  in  the  scale  of 
organization. 

Not  only  are  the  superior  animals  ill  represented  on 
this  continent,  but  they  have  not  the  strength,  nor  the 
indomitable  courage,  not  the  ferocity,  nor  the  intelligence 
of  the  similar  creatures  of  the  Old  World.  In  all  tropical 
America  especially,  as  we  see,  the  whole  animal  king- 
dom remains  in  an  inferior  condition.  It  is  subjected  to 
the  watery  element,  and  to  the  vegetable  world ;  for  in 
those  regions  where  vegetable  life  is  the  superior,  animal 
life  stands  but  in  the  second  degree. 

North  America,  however,  in  consequence  of  her  more 
continental  character,  possesses  some  superior  types, 
which  recall  to  mind,  and  perhaps  equal,  those  of  the 
Old  World.  The  majestic  bison,  the  deer,  the  elk,  and 
the  bear,  give  evidence  of  that  same  vigorous  northern 
nature  which  predominates  in  the  temperate  continents, 
and  of  which,  as  we  shall  see,  North  America  possesses 
her  share. 


216 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Man  himself,  the  indigenous  man  I  mean,  bears  in  his 
whole  character  the  ineffaceable  stamp  of  this  peculiarly 
vegetative  nature.  Living  continually  in  the  shadow  of 
those  virgin  forests  which  overspread  the  land  he  inhab- 
its, his  whole  nature  has  been  modified  thereby.  The 
very  copper  hue  of  his  complexion  indicates  that  he  lives 
not,  like  the  negro,  beneath  the  scorching  sunbeams. 
His  lymphatic  temperament  betrays  the  preponderance 
in  his  nature  of  the  vegetative  element.  The  Indian  is 
of  a  melancholy,  cold,  and  insensible  race.  "  Foreign 
to  our  hopes,  our  joys,  our  griefs,"  says  a  traveller,  "it  is 
rarely  that  a  tear  moistens  his  eyes,  or  that  a  smile  lights 
up  his  features."  The  most  barbarous  tortures  cannot 
extort  from  him  a  single  complaint,  and  his  stoical  indif- 
ference is  disturbed  only  by  vengeance  or  jealousy.  If  he 
sometimes  exhibits  a  display  of  prodigious  muscular  force, 
he  is  yet  without  endurance.  Who  knows  not  that  when 
the  first  invaders  of  the  New  World  endeavored  to  com- 
pel the  inoffensive  Indians,  who  had  received  them  as 
gods,  to  the  rude  labors  of  the  mines  and  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil,  these  men  of  the  woods,  incapable  of 
enduring  fatigue,  perished  in  agony  b}^  thousands  ?  And 
it  was  thereupon  that  the  Europeans  substituted  for  the 
Indian  the  robust  and  vigorous  native  of  the  Old  World, 
the  negro,  who  still,  to  this  day,  used  as  the  instruments 
of  the  white  man's  labor,  endures,  I  had  almost  said, 
gayly,  a  degree  of  toil  equal  to  that  which  destroyed  the 
native  of  the  country. 

The  social  condition  of  the  Indian  tribes  is  tinctured, 
in  an  equal  degree,  by  the  powerful  influence  of  his 
vegetative  character.    The  Indian  has  continued  the 


CONCLUSION. 


217 


man  of  the  forest.  He  has  seldom  elevated  himself 
above  the  condition  of  the  hunter,  the  lowest  grade  on 
the  scale  of  civilization.  The  exuberance  of  the  soil  has 
never  been  of  value  to  him ;  for  he  asks  not  of  the  earth 
his  nourishment.  He  has  never  even  ascended  to  the 
rank  of  the  pastoral  man.  With  him  no  domestic 
animals  are  maintained  to  feed  him  with  their  milk,  or 
clothe  him  with  their  fleeces,  as  they  are  by  the  nomadic 
races  of  the  Old  World.  From  one  to  the  other  extrem- 
ity of  America,  we  find  the  same  lamentable  spectacle ; 
the  people  of  the  elevated  table  lands  of  Mexico  and 
Peru  are  the  only  exception  to  this  picture,  and  this 
exception  goes  far  to  establish  the  influence  of  the  vege- 
tative and  humid  nature  of  the  lower  plains  of  America. 
For  if  these  nations  do  not  exhibit  the  same  character  of 
inferiority ;  if  they  have  raised  themselves  a  little  higher 
in  the  sphere  of  humanity,  by  the  aid,  perchance,  of  ele- 
ments foreign  to  their  own  continent,  it  can  be  for  no 
other  cause  than  that,  living  in  those  heights,  those 
aerial  islands,  above  the  influence  of  the  hot  and  humid 
atmosphere,  they  have  been  removed  from  the  potency 
of  its  action. 

Such,  gentlemen,  is  the  order,  the  admirable  connection 
of  the  phenomena  of  nature  with  each  other.  The  con- 
formation and  position  of  the  New  World  give  to  it  a  hot 
and  watery  climate ;  this  impresses  its  own  character  on 
all  the  organized  creation.  Man  himself,  the  one  being 
preeminently  free,  is  liable  to  its  influence,  in  proportion 
as  he  neglects  the  exertion  of  those  superior  faculties 
wherewith  he  is  endowed  for  the  conquest  and  subjuga- 
19 


21S 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


tion  of  that  nature  which  was  intended,  not  to  govern, 
but  to  serve  him. 

We  may  rest,  then,  in  this  conclusion,  that,  as  compared 
with  the  Old  World,  the  New  World  is  the  humid  side 
of  our  planet,  the  oceanic,  vegetative  world,  the  passive 
element  awaiting  the  excitement  of  a  livelier  impulse 
from  without.  Such  is  the  America  of  Nature,  such  was 
it  before  the  arrival  of  the  man  of  the  Old  World.  We 
know  already,  and  we  shall  see  better  yet  hereafter,  all 
that  his  superior  intelligence  has  been  enabled  to  effect  in 
the  way  of  improving  upon  nature. 


LECTURE  IX. 


Geographical  characteristics  of  the  Old  World —  The  continent  of 
Asia-Europe —  Comparison  of  its  structure  with  that  of  America  — 
The  continental  climate  prevailing  in  the  Old  World — -  Conse- 
quences —  Vegetation  less  abundant  —  Preponderance  of  the  animal 
world — The  Old  World  the  country  of  the  higher  and  historical 
races  —  Reciprocal  action  of  the  two  worlds  by  means  of  man  — 
Establishment  of  the  man  of  the  Old  World  in  the  New  —  Histor- 
ical America  compared  with  Europe  —  Alliance  of  the  two  worlds  ; 
solution  of  the  contrast. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

The  comparison  we  have  made  between  the  Old 
World  and  the  New,  and  the  detailed  study  of  the  first, 
have  enabled  us,  I  think,  to  determine  its  true  character, 
the  character  assigned  to  it  by  its  physical  nature.  The 
character  it  owes  to  its  more  oceanic  position,  to  the 
abundance  of  the  waters,  to  a  more  tropical  situation, 
to  a  more  fertile  soil,  is  the  marked  preponderance  of 
vegetable  life  over  animal  life.  A  vigorous  vegetation, 
abundant  rather  than  delicate,  immense  forests,  a  soil 
everywhere  irrigated,  everywhere  productive — these  are 
the  wealth  of  America.  Nature  has  given  her  all  the 
raw  materials  with  liberality ;  has  lavished  upon  her  all 
useful  gifts. 

But  our  globe  would  be  incomplete,  gentlemen,  if  this 
element  were  alone  represented,  if  this  were  the  only 
world  that  existed.  The  comparative  study  we  have 
commenced  has  shown  us  already  that  this  is  not  the 


220  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

case;  the  group  of  continents  combined  in  the  eastern 
hemisphere  has  already  appeared  as  possessing  an 
assemblage  of  characters,  securing  to  it  an  entirely 
different  nature.  One  of  the  two  worlds  is  by  no  means 
a  repetition  of  the  other ;  for  the  Author  of  all  things  is 
too  rich  in  his  conceptions  ever  to  repeat  himself  in  his 
works. 

We  know  already  a  good  number  of  the  physical 
characteristics  of  the  Old  World,  an  unknown  world  to 
us  no  more.  Nevertheless,  it  is  well  to  recall  them  here, 
in  order  to  group  them  in  a  single  picture,  and  to  deduce 
from  them  the  essential  and  characteristic  feature  which 
distinguishes  it  from  America. 

The  number  of  the  continents,  double  that  of  the 
New  World,  their  grouping  in  a  more  compact  and  solid 
mass,  make  it  already  and  preeminently  the  continental 
world.  It  is  a  mighty  oak,  with  stout  and  sturdy  trunk, 
while  America  is  the  slender  and  flexible  palm  tree,  so 
dear  to  this  continent.  The  Old  World — if  it  is  allow- 
able to  employ  here  comparisons  of  this  nature — calls  to 
mind  the  square  and  solid  figure  of  man ;  America,  the 
lithe  shape  and  delicate  form  of  woman. 

The  direction  of  the  principal  reliefs,  the  prolongation 
of  the  Old  World  from  east  to  west,  and  its  more  north- 
ern position,  cause  it  to  belong  rather  to  the  temperate 
zones  than  to  the  zone  of  the  tropics,  and  give,  through- 
out its  whole  length,  a  more  similar  climate. 

If  America  is  distinguished  by  the  simplicity  of  its 
interior  structure,  and  by  the  consequent  unity  of  char- 
acter, the  Old  World,  on  the  contrary,  presents  the  variety 
of  structure  carried  to  its  utmost  limits.   While  America, 


THE  OLD  WORLD. 


221 


as  we  have  seen,  is  constructed  upon  one  and  the  same 
plan  in  the  two  continents,  the  Old  World  has  at  least 
three,  as  many  as  its  separate  masses;  one  for  Asia  and 
Europe,  one  for  Africa,  a  third  for  Australia ;  for,  in  spite 
of  their  resemblance  in  certain  general  features,  common 
to  them,  as  the  law  of  the  reliefs  has  taught  us,  each  of 
these  three  continents  has  none  the  less  its  special  struc- 
ture, which  is  not  the  same  in  Australia  as  in  Africa,  nor 
in  Africa  as  in  Asia-Europe. 

The  great  mass  of  Asia-Europe,  which  may  be  well 
called  a  single  continent,  of  a  triangular  form,  whose 
western  point  is  Europe — Asia-Europe,  by  itself,  forms 
already  the  pendant  of  the  two  Americas.  Like  the  New 
World,  it  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  long  ridge  of 
heights,  of  mountain  chains,  and  of  table  lands,  forming 
a  line  of  the  highest  elevations,  and  the  axis  of  this  con- 
tinent.;  the  Himalaya,  the  Hindo-Khu,  the  Caucasus,  the 
Alps,  the  Pyrenees,  are  analogous  to  the  long  American 
Cordilleras. 

This  ridge  also  divides  the  Old  World  into  two  unequal 
parts,  but  is  not  placed  on  one  of  the  edges  of  the  conti- 
nents, as  in  America.  It  is  only  a  little  out  of  the  centre, 
so  that  it  divides  the  whole  surface  into  two  opposite 
slopes,  unequal  certainly,  but  the  narrower  is  neverthe- 
less considerable.  The  northern  slope  is  more  vast :  it 
contains  all  the  great  plains  of  the  North,  but  it  is  less 
favored  by  the  climate,  and  by  the  forms  of  the  soil. 
The  southern  slope  is  less  extended,  but  it  enjoys  a  more 
beautiful  climate;  nature  is  richer  there;  it  is  more 
indented,  more  variously  moulded  ;  it  possesses  all  those 
fine  peninsulas,  the  two  Indies.  Arabia.  Asia  Minor, 
19* 


222  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

Greece,  Italy,  Spain,  which  form  the  wealth  of  Asia  and 
Europe.  *  Figure  to  yourselves  the  coasts  of  the  Pacific, 
furnished  with  a  series  of  peninsulas  of  this  description, 
and  you  will  have  an  idea  of  the  augmentation  of  wealth 
that  would  result  to  America  from  such  an  addition. 

We  will  point  out  still  another  difference. 

While  in  America  the  plains  are  always  situated  on 
the  same  side  of  the  chain  of  the  Andes,  in  A  sia-Europe 
the  table  lands  and  the  plains  are  situated  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  continental  axis  alternately.  Thus,  in  East- 
ern Asia,  the  great  plateau  of  Tubet  and  Mongolia  is  on 
the  north,  and  the  plains  of  the  Ganges  are  on  the  south. 
In  Western  Asia,  on  the  contrary,  the  plateaus  of 
Afghanistan  and  Persia  are  on  the  south,  the  plains 
of  Tartary  on  the  north.  In  Europe,  a  different  situ- 
ation still ;  on  the  south  of  the  Alps  and  the  Pyrenees 
are  the  peninsulas  and  their  gulfs,  the  mountain  chains 
and  their  plateaus ;  in  general,  countries  more  elevated, 
but  broken  and  dispersed ;  on  the  north,  are  chains  more 
varied,  lower ;  countries  more  continuous,  less  cut  up, 
and  the  great  plains  of  the  North  of  Germany.  All 
the  combinations  seem,  if  I  may  say  so,  to  have  been 
exhausted. 

This  is  not  all  yet.  The  axis  of  Asia-Europe,  instead 
of  forming  a  continuous  wall,  without  gap  and  without 
breaks,  like  the  Andes,  is  composed  of  several  isolated 
systems,  independent  of  each  other,  often  leaving  wide 
openings  between  them.  Sometimes  it  is  a  sea  that 
separates  them;  sometimes  vast  plains  serve  as  high 
roads  to  the  invading  nations,  who  pass  from  one  side  to 
the  other  of  this  great  barrier,  from  the  northern  to  the 


ASIA-EUROPE,  STRUCTURE. 


223 


southern  world.  Thus,  the  lofty  chains  of  the  Him- 
alaya, and  of  Hindo-Khu,  sink  towards  the  west  and 
disappear,  and  no  important  ridge  any  longer  separates 
the  inhabitants  of  the  steppes  of  Lake  Aral  from  the 
dweller  on  the  table  land  of  Iran.  The  Caucasus  rises 
abruptly  from  the  level  of  the  Caspian,  and  terminates 
in  the  same  way  at  the  margin  of  the  Black  Sea ;  and  it 
is  only  upon  the  high  shore  of  this  sea  that  the  moun- 
tains of  Transylvania  and  the  Balkan  again  begin  to 
separate  the  northern  from  the  southern  world.  This 
break  opens  to  the  polar  winds  and  the  northern  tribes 
the  broad  gate  which  has  cost  the  south  such  fierce 
assaults.  The  Alps,  finally,  do  not  touch  the  Pyrenees, 
and  the  Languedoc  canal,  uniting  the  Mediterranean 
with  the  ocean,  proves  the  importance  of  this  communi- 
cation between  the  two  basins. 

Let  us  add,  finally,  that  a  large  number  of  chains, 
parallel  to  this  great  line,  and  of  others  cutting  it  trans- 
versely, like  the  Bolor,  the  Ghauts  of  the  Deccan,  and 
the  numerous  chains  of  Indo-China,  the  Lebanus,  the 
Oural,  the  Scandinavian  Alps,  to  mention  only  the  prin- 
cipal, cut  the  soil  in  all  directions,  divide  it  into  a  multi- 
tude of  different  basins,  of  natural  regions,  having  their 
several  limits,  their  climate,  their  special  character,  and 
we  shall  be  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  assertion,  that 
in  the  Old  World,  variety  of  structure  is  carried  to  th& 
extreme. 

Thus,  while  America  is  distinguished  by  simplicity  of 
forms  and  unity  of  plan,  the  Old  World  has  in  turn  a 
diversity  of  reliefs,  of  combinations  of  mountain  chains, 
of  plateaus  and  of  plains,  multiplying  to  infinity  those 


224  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

differences,  those  interior  contrasts,  wherewith  America 
is  less  richly  provided,  and  which,  as  we  know,  are  one 
of  the  most  powerful  means  of  development. 

The  character  of  the  climate  of  the  Old  World,  taken 
as  a  whole,  is  a  result  of  all  the  general  features  of  con- 
figuration we  have  thus  far  ascertained.  The  vast 
extent  of  this  group  of  continents,  the  height  and  num- 
ber of  its  table  lands,  the  greater  elevation  of  its  eastern 
regions,  close  it  against  the  influences  of  the  ocean, 
scarcely  holding  its  empire  over  the  shores.  If  the 
climate  of  the  New  World  bears,  in  general,  the  oceanic 
character,  that  of  the  Old  World,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
dry,  comparatively  hot,  extreme ;  in  a  word,  continental. 
If  the  western  hemisphere  is  the  humid  side  of  our 
globe,  the  eastern  hemisphere  is  the  arid  side. 

The  character  of  the  climate  of  the  Old  World  is 
reflected  in  the  organic  beings,  as  we  might  expect, 
and  it  stamps,  on  the  vegetation  and  the  animal  world, 
a  special  impress,  important  to  be  noticed. 

In  the  Old  World  the  vegetation  is  less  universal,  less 
plentiful,  than  in  the  two  Americas.  Nowhere  on  its 
surface  do  we  encounter  virgin  forests,  whose  extent  can 
be  compared  with  the  boundless  selvas  of  the  Amazon ; 
they  are  found,  doubtless,  in  the  tropical  regions  of 
Africa  and  the  Indies ;  but  they  are  rather  local  phenom- 
ena, and  do  not  give  their  character  to  vast  countries. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Old  World  is  the  world  of  steppes 
and  deserts.  Nowhere  else  are  those  dry  and  barren 
plains  so  numerous,  so  extensive,  so  unbroken.  It  is 
enough  to  mention  the  boundless  steppes  of  Russia  and 
Caucasus,  of  Siberia  and  the  Altai,  of  Tartary  and  of 


OLD  WORLD,  VEGETATION. 


225 


Turkestan ;  to  recall  to  mind  the  great  zone  of  deserts 
obliquely  traversing  the  Old  World  in  its  greatest  length, 
from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  through  Sahara,  Arabia, 
Eastern  Persia,  and  Mongolia,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and 
occupying  all  the  central  part  of  the  lands  of  the  three 
continents  united,  to  be  convinced  that  the  distinctive 
character  of  the  climate  of  the  Old  World  is  dryness. 

The  general  forms  and  aspect  of  the  plants  them- 
selves, at  once  declare  the  parsimony  wherewith  nature 
has  provided  for  them  the  moisture  so  essential  to  their 
full  development.  Instead  of  expanding  their  surface 
for  evaporation  and  absorption,  their  leaves  seem  to 
fold  upon  themselves,  to  concentrate  themselves  into  a 
smaller  volume ;  they  have  a  tendency  to  approach  the 
linear  shape,  the  pointed  form  we  notice  in  the  pines ; 
they  often  become  membranous,  leathery ;  or  the  plant 
is  covered  with  a  soft  down,  with  a  nap,  or  even  with 
prickles,  which  are  only  leaves  or  branchlets,  trans- 
formed and  hardened  under  the  influence  of  a  dry  air. 
Or,  still  further,  they  take  those  plump,  fleshy,  cylin- 
drical forms,  which  seem  struggling  to  contain  the  great- 
est quantity  of  vegetable  matter  in  the  smallest  possible 
volume.  Such  is  the  flora  of  Southern  Africa,  with  its 
Stapelias,  its  juicy  Mesembryanthems,  its  brilliant  Aloes, 
its  delicate  Mimosas,  its  Metrosideri,  its  heaths  without 
number.  Such  is  that  of  Australia  with  its  forests  of 
Eucalypti,  its  Banksias,  and  its  Casuarinas,  with  their 
long  and  naked,  pendant,  thread-like  branches.  Such, 
moreover,  is  the  flora  of  the  steppes  and  the  deserts  of 
Arabia  and  Gobi,  (for  there,  also,  are  still  some  scanty 
representatives  of  the  vegetable  world,)  consisting  en- 


226  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

tirely  of  plants  of  a  dry  and  ligneous  nature,  often 
clothed  with  white  down,  or  of  gray  hues,  imitating  the 
color  of  the  dust  of  the  desert.  In  all  these  countries 
the  forests  are  rare,  of  small  extent,  of  little  density ;  the 
scattered  trees  are  not  invaded  by  those  woody  climbers 
which  elsewhere  entangle  and  interweave  them,  and 
form  those  impenetrable  masses  of  verdure  which  char- 
acterize the  tropical  wilds  of  the  New  World.  Thus, 
in  the  vegetable  kingdom  of  the  Old  World,  there  is 
oftener  a  scarcity,  oftener  a  sufficiency,  but  rarely  an 
abundance. 

Nevertheless,  because  the  vegetable  does  not  reign 
there  by  its  mass,  is  this  saying  that  it  reaches  a  less 
perfect  organization?  No,  gentlemen,  no  such  thing. 
It  is  this  dry  and  warm  climate  that  produces  the  deli- 
cate fruits  of  Persia  and  of  Asia  Minor,  elaborates  those 
refined  juices,  those  perfumes,  those  fine  aromas  of  the 
East,  the  fame  of  which  was  already  established  in  the 
remotest  antiquity.  These  same  regions  of  the  Old 
World  have  given  us  coffee  from  Arabia,  and  tea  from  the 
uttermost  Orient,  so  precious  to  all  the  civilized  nations. 
The  East  Indies  and  their  archipelago,  as  we  have  said, 
under  the  influence  of  the  vigor  of  the  continent  and  the 
moisture  of  the  ocean,  yield  those  concentrated  products, 
those  strong  spices,  the  nutmeg,  the  clove,  the  ginger, 
there  in  its  native  country;  the  pepper,  the  cinnamon, 
of  which  the  whole  world  makes  use.  It  is  these  same 
countries  that  present  us  the  largest  leaves  and  flowers 
known ;  there,  also,  grows  the  Banyan  tree,  the  symbol 
of  vegetable  strength;  it  is  in  Africa  that  the  huge 
Baobab  unfolds  itself  —  the  Adansonia,  whose  trunk 


OLD  WORLD,  VEGETATION. 


227 


sometimes  measures  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter.  But, 
gentlemen,  let  us  acknowledge  it,  these  are  the  products 
of  favored  spots  ;  the  common  rule,  —  I  do  not  speak  of 
quality,  but  of  quantity,  —  the  general  rule  of  the  Old 
World  is  economy,  and  not  superfluity. 

But  if  vegetation  in  the  Old  World  seems  reduced  to 
a  subordinate  place,  it  is  not  so  with  animal  life ;  this 
we  find  here  in  its  fulness,  and  varied  to  a  degree  the 
New  World  knows  nothing  of.  While  it  seems  to  be 
impoverished  and  subdued  in  the  dank  atmosphere  of 
tropical  America,  it  flourishes  most  of  all  in  the  dry,  hot, 
exciting  climate  of  Africa  and  Asia. 

America,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the  domain  of  insects 
and  reptiles,  which  prosper  in  the  humid  and  vegetative 
element. 

The  Old  World  is  the  domain  of  the  higher  animals, 
the  Mammalia,  the  number  of  which,  their  variety,  their 
strength,  and  their  size,  give  character  to  the  animal 
kingdom  of  these  countries.  As  we  have  said,  when 
comparing  the  animal  kingdoms  of  the  two  worlds,  not 
only  the  representatives  of  the  corresponding  families 
are  larger  and  stronger  in  the  Old  World,  but  they 
appear  in  more  numerous  genera  and  more  varied 
species,  and  even  exhibit  types  entirely  foreign  to  Amer- 
ica, as  the  giraffe,  the  giant  of  the  Ruminants. 

The  servants  and  companions  of  man,  the  horse,  that 
noble  animal  which  he.  can  neither  forego  for  his  wants 
nor  for  his  pleasures  ;  the  ox,  more  useful  still ;  the  dog, 
his  faithful  friend,  are  gifts  the  Old  World  has  bestowed 
upon  the  New.  Finally,  the  presence  of  the  Chimpanzi 
of  Africa,  and  of  the  Orang-outang  of  the  Indies,  whose 


228  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

figure  comes  the  nearest  to  man's,  proves  that  the  devel- 
opment of  animal  life  reaches  here  the  utmost  limits  it 
can  attain,  apart  from  man  himself. 

The  animal  kingdom,  as  we  see,  has,  in  the  Old 
World,  the  preponderance  over  the  vegetable,  as  in  the 
New  World  the  vegetable  had  over  the  animal.  The 
kind  of  enemies  man  encounters  in  the  one  and  the 
other  world,  when  he  struggles  with  nature,  already 
tell  us  what  is  their  character.  In  America,  the  over- 
flowing rivers  and  their  lowlands ;  the  virgin  forest,  the 
climbing  plants  and  their  impenetrable  thickets ;  the 
poisonous  reptiles,  and  the  devouring  insects  multiplying 
there,  are  his  most  formidable  enemies.  In  Africa  or  in 
Asia,  it  is  thirst,  the  moving  sands,  and  the  burning 
heat  of  the  sun;  it  is  the  lion,  the  tiger,  the  hyena, 
and  all  the  ferocious  inhabitants  of  the  desert,  that 
menace  his  life  and  encompass  him  with  ever-recurring 
dangers. 

Let  us  raise  ourselves  higher  still,  and  pass  into  the 
province  of  man  himself.  We  find  here  the  contrast 
between  the  two  worlds  still  more  marked.  Instead 
of  a  single  race,  the  copper-colored,  dwelling  in  both 
Americas,  from  Labrador  to  Cape  Horn,  four  different 
races,  if  not  five,  belong  to  the  Old  World,  and  testify 
to  the  variety  of  its  plastic  forms,  and  to  their  powerful 
influence  upon  the  organization  of  man. 

The  white  race  is  distinguished  above  them  all :  the 
most  perfect  type  of  humanity;  the  race  best  endowed 
with  the  gifts  of  intelligence,  and  with  the  profound 
moral  and  religious  sentiment  that  brings  man  near  to 
Him  of  whom  he  is  the  earthly  image.    To  this  race 


ANIMAL  LIFE  PREDOMINANT. 


229 


belong,  without  exception,  all  the  nations  of  high 
civilization,  the  truly  historical  nations;  this  still  repre- 
sents the  highest  degree  of  progress  attained  by  man- 
kind. After  it,  the  Mongolian  and  Malayan  races, 
which  might  be  called  the  semi-historical  nations,  are 
still  superior  in  civilization  to  the  copper-colored.  If 
we  take  even  those  races  of  the  temperate  regions  of 
the  Old  World,  at  the  lowest  degree  of  the  social  scale, 
the  nomadic  tribes  of  the  plateaus  of  Eastern  Asia  and 
of  the  western  steppes,  they  are  still  far  superior  to  the 
hunting  tribes  of  the  two  Americas.  There  is  even  in 
the  tropical  man  of  the  Old  World,  in  Africa  at  least, 
a  somewhat  of  native  vigor  of  vital  energy,  manifested 
by  his  sanguine  temperament,  by  his  gayety,  by  his 
lively  affections,  and  by  his  muscular  strength,  placing 
him  higher  than  the  Indian  of  tropical  America.  His 
social  state,  even,  has  made  a  step  in  advance.  The 
negro  tribes  of  Congo  and  Soudan  form  real  common- 
wealths ;  they  are  acquainted  with  agriculture. 

The  density  of  the  human  population  in  the  two 
worlds  speaks  with  still  greater  emphasis.  Taking  the 
least  uncertain  numbers,  we  find  that,  while  Europe 
counts  89  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile,  Asia  32,  and 
Africa  14,  America  has  only  4.  If  we  compare,  then, 
either  the  races  of  the  two  worlds,  or  the  civilized 
nations  of  Europe  and  of  Asia,  with  those  of  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  Mexico  and  Peru ;  or,  finally,  the  least 
cultivated  tribes,  the  nomads  and  the  negroes,  with  the 
hunting  Indians  of  North  and  South  America,  the  ad- 
vantage, in  various  respects,  will  remain  with  the  Old 
World. 

20 


230  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

Thus  the  Old  and  the  New  World  are  distinguished 
by  an  assemblage  of  different  and  opposite  character- 
istics, making  a  separate  type  of  each,  and  giving  to 
each  a  peculiar  physical  aspect.  In  one,  the  simplicity 
of  forms,  the  moist  climate,  the  dominance  of  vegetation, 
declare  the  passive  element ;  in  the  other,  the  variety  of 
forms,  the  dry  and  extreme  climate,  the  animal  world, 
all  proclaim  the  active  element.  They  are  opposed  to 
each  other  as  the  vegetable  and  the  animal. 

Furthermore,  in  this  great  contrast,  as  in  that  of  land 
and  water,  we  find  an  inequality  between  the  two 
factors,  considering  them  as  we  are  now  doing,  with 
respect  to  their  physical  nature ;  one  of  the  two  worlds 
appears  to  us  as  the  superior,  the  other  as  the  inferior. 
The  Old  World  holds  the  first  rank  by  its  mass, 
by  the  number  of  its  continents,  by  the  variety  and 
richness  of  its  structure,  by  its  continental  climate 
opposed  to  the  oceanic ;  by  the  preponderance  of  animal 
over  vegetable  life,  by  the  number  and  superiority  of  its 
races  of  men;  finally,  it  is  the  primitive  seat  of  high 
civilization. 

But  these  two  parts  of  our  planet  are  only  the  parts 
of  one  organic  whole.  We  see  in  advance — and  the 
law  we  have  so  often  traced  out  in  the  course  of  our 
studies  confirms  it — we  see  in  advance,  that  two  indi- 
viduals so  different  from  each  other  cannot  be  confronted 
without  entering  into  relations,  without  commencing  a 
life  of  interchanges,  that  will  enrich  them  both.  Thence, 
by  this  mutual  action  of  the  two  worlds,  will  be  un- 
folded all  of  the  wealth  of  life,  the  germs  whereof  are 
deposited  in  each;  a  grand  unity  will  be  constituted, 


THE  OLD  WORLD  ANP  THE  NEW. 


231 


which,  embracing  both,  will  raise  them  to  the  highest 
degree  of  improvement  Providence  seems  to  have  de- 
creed for  them  by  nature  itself,  but  which  they  cannot 
attain  without  each  other's  aid. 

The  inequality  we  have  just  established,  is,  then,  an 
additional  source  of  wealth,  for  it  summons  forth  the 
mutual  actions,  and  hastens  the  solution  of  this  great 
contrast. 

But  how  will  this  mutual  action  take  place  ?  Physical 
nature  has  exhausted  its  means  of  action  for  producing, 
by  the  intervention  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  winds, 
the  mixture  of  land  and  sea,  the  diversity  of  climates 
and  of  organized  beings,  making  the  two  worlds  two 
distinct  individuals ;  it  cannot  go  further ;  it  belongs 
now  to  man,  for  whom  they  were  made,  to  human 
societies,  to  continue  this  work,  to  blend  their  two 
natures,  and  to  establish  between  the  two  worlds  the 
permanent  bond  that  is  to  unite  them.  In  their  action 
upon  the  peoples  and  nations  of  the  globe,  all  their 
physical  differences  must  be  reflected,  and  may  be  ex- 
pected to  display  their  true  importance. 

America  lies  glutted  with  its  vegetable  wealth,  un- 
worked,  solitary.  Its  immense  forests,  its  savannas, 
every  year  cover  its  soil  with  their  remains,  which, 
accumulated  during  the  long  ages  of  the  world,  form 
that  deep  bed  of  vegetable  mould,  that  precious  soil, 
awaiting  only  the  hand  of  man  to  work  out  all  the 
wealth  of  its  inexhaustible  fertility.  Meantime,  the 
human  race  of  the  New  World,  the  Indian,  the  primi- 
tive owner  of  these  vast  territories,  shows  himself  in- 
capable or  careless  of  the  work ;  never  has  he  opened 


232  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

the  soil  with  his  ploughshare,  to  demand  the  treasures 
it  encloses.  Hunting  is  his  livelihood ;  war  his  holiday. 
Upon  a  soil  able  to  support  millions  of  men  in  plenty,  a 
few  scattered  inhabitants  lead  a  wretched  existence  in 
the  bosom  of  the  wilderness. 

Side  by  side  with  so  much  unused  wealth,  see  the 
Old  World,  exhausted  by  long  cultivation,  overloaded 
with  an  exuberant  population,  fall  of  spirit  and  life, 
but  to  whom  severe  labor  hardly  gives  subsistence  for 
the  day;  devoured  by  activity,  but  wanting  resources 
and  space  to  expand  itself;  and  you  will  perceive  that 
this  state  of  things,  that  a  disproportion  so  startling, 
cannot  long  exist.  The  gifts  God  bestows  on  man  He 
requires  should  be  employed,  and  He  takes  from  him 
who  does  not  put  it  to  use,  the  talent  which  has  been 
entrusted  to  him. 

As  the  plant  is  made  for  the  animal,  as  the  vegetable 
world  is  made  for  the  animal  world,  America  is  made 
for  the  man  of  the  Old  World.  It  is  to  the  latter,  as 
the  active  principle,  that  the  first  onset  belongs. 

Everything  in  nature  is  admirably  prepared  for  this 
great  work.  The  two  worlds  are  looking  face  to  face, 
and  are,  as  it  were,  inclining  towards  each  other.  The 
Old  World  bends  towards  the  New,  and  is  ready  to 
pour  out  its  tribes,  whom  a  resistless  descent  of  the 
reliefs  seems  to  sweep  towards  the  Atlantic.  America 
looks  towards  the  Old  World ;  all  its  slopes  and  its  long 
plains  sweep*  down  to  the  Atlantic,  towards  Europe.  It 
seems  to  wait  with  open  and  eager  arms  the  beneficent 
influence  of  the  man  of  the  Old  World.  No  barrier 
opposes  their  progress ;   the  Andes  and  the  Rocky 


ALLIANCE  OF   THE   TWO  WORLDS. 


233 


Mountains,  banished  to  the  other  shore  of  the  continent, 
will  place  no  obstacle  in  their  path.  Soon  the  moment 
will  come. 

The  man  of  the  Old  World  sets  out  upon  his  way. 
Leaving  the  highlands  of  Asia,  he  descends  from  station 
to  station  towards  Europe.  Each  of  his  steps  is  marked 
by  a.  new  civilization  superior  to  the  preceding,  by  a 
greater  power  of  development.  Arrived  at  the  Atlantic, 
he  pauses  on  the  shore  of  this  unknown  ocean,  the 
bounds  of  which  he  knows  not,  and  turns  upon  his  foot- 
prints for  an  instant.  Under  the  influence  of  the  soil 
of  Europe,  so  richly  organized,  he  works  out  slowly  the 
numerous  germs  wherewith  he  is  endowed.  After  this 
long  and  teeming  repose,  his  faculties  are  reawakened, 
he  is  reanimated.  At  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
an  unaccustomed  movement  agitates  and  vexes  him 
from  one  end  of  the  continent  to  the  other.  He  has 
tilled  the  impoverished  soil,  and  yet  the  number  of  his 
offspring  increases.  He  turns  his  looks  at  once  towards 
the  east  and  the  west,  and  sets  out  in  search  of  new 
countries.  His  horizon  enlarges ;  his  activity  preys 
upon  him  ;  he  breaks  his  bounds. 

Then  recommences  his  adventurous  career  west- 
ward, as  in  the  earliest  ages.  His  intelligence  has 
grown,  and  with  it  his  power  and  hardihood.  Under 
the  guidance  of  the  genius  of  the  age,  he  attacks 
this  dreaded  ocean,  of  which,  to  this  time,  he  knows 
only  the  margin.  He  abandons  himself  to  the  winds 
and  the  currents,  which  bear  him  gently  towards  the 
coasts  of  America.  He  is  enraptured  as  he  treads  the 
shore  of  this  land  of  wonders,  still  more  adorned  in 
20* 


234 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


his  eyes  by  all  the  fascinations  his  ardent  imagination 
lends  it. 

The  European  establishes  himself  little  by  little  upon 
this  new  land;  he  gets  a  foot-hold  but  slowly;  for.  to 
his  shame  be  it  said,  the  thirst  for  gold  seems  the 
only  motive  urging  him  thither;  for  gold,  that  facti- 
tious, cheating,  transitory  wealth,  which  in  the  long 
run  impoverishes  him  who  has  it,  because  it  puts  his 
faculties  asleep ;  that  gold,  fatal  to  Spain,  the  abun- 
dant possession  of  which  was  the  signal  of  her  decline. 
To  make  a  fortune  rapidly,  by  all  possible  means, 
and  to  return  to  Europe  to  enjoy  it,  this  was  the  aim 
of  the  earliest  colonists.  These  are  not  the  true  labor- 
ers in  the  great  work  that  is  beginning ;  these  are 
only  the  trappers ;  these  are  not  the  civilizers  of  the 
New  World ;  not  to  them  shall  it  be  given  to  be  its  true 
possessors. 

Meantime  new  bands  from  beyond  the  seas  soon 
discover  that  the  real  wealth  of  America  lies  in  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil.  Then  begin  the  interchanges.  The 
European  plants,  in  this  still  virgin  land,  the  useful 
vegetables  he  brings  from  the  Old  World,  the  sugar- 
cane, the  coffee,  the  cotton,  the  spices,  the  cereal  grains, 
more  precious  still,  and  draws  therefrom  abundant 
harvests.  The  New  World  gives  to  Europe,  in  ex- 
change, the  cocoa,  the  vanilla,  the  quinquina,  the  potato, 
above  all,  alone  worth  all  the  rest.  The  domestic 
animals,  which  are  wanting  in  America,  follow  the 
footsteps  of  the  colonists  thither ;  the  horse,  the  ass,  the 
ox,  the  swine,  all  these  useful  companions  of  man,  that 
act  so  important  a  part  in  the  domestic  economy  of 


ALLIANCE  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS. 


235 


civilized  nations,  henceforth  enrich  this  second  half  of 
the  earth. 

For  a  long  time  America  is  a  daughter  of  the  Old 
World,  in  her  minority;  and  nevertheless,  the  colonial 
system  already  reacts  profoundly  upon  the  development 
of  the  European  nations.  During  the  three  centuries 
following  the  discovery,  the  questions  connected  with 
the  commerce  of  the  world  and  the  possession  of  the 
colonies  grow  every  moment  in  importance.  Every 
day  brings  with  it  the  establishment  of  new  colonies, 
and  augments  and  reinforces  those  already  existing.  A 
local  life  makes  no  delay  in  displaying  itself  on  this 
fresh  soil.  Whole  peoples  take  root  and  increase  with 
rapidity  in  the  midst  of  that  nature  which  yields  them 
everything  in  abundance.  They  ask  no  more  help 
from  the  mother  comitry ;  they  are  in  a  condition  to 
furnish  it  to  her ;  the  consciousness  of  strength  grows 
with  their  prosperity. 

But  the  hour  of  independence  has  struck ;  the  fruit 
is  ripe;  it  drops  from  the  tree.  The  sons  of  the  Old 
World  have  adopted  America  for  their  country  ;  she  has 
become  their  beloved  mother.  America  takes  her  posi- 
tion face  to  face  with  Europe,  not  as  a  minor,  but  as  a 
full-aged  daughter — free,  for  it  is  her  right.  She  throws 
herself  alone,  and  on  her  own  account,  released  from 
guardianship,  with  demeanor  more  open,  more  frank, 
more  rapid,  into  the  career  of  civilization.  Now  com- 
mences a  new  antagonism,  more  serious,  more  vast  in 
its  proportions.  The  two  worlds  treat  as  power  with 
power ;  for  two  free  and  independent  beings  look  upon 
each  other.     But,  gentlemen,  they  are  not  enemies ; 


236 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


they  are  too  well  adapted,  too  truly  made  for  each 
other ;  they  have  too  much  need  of  each  other ;  they 
are  too  much  the  complement  of  each  other,  not  to  unite 
for  their  common  interest.  Their  differences  will  only 
serve  to  excite  a  more  active  life,  a  more  extensive  and 
lasting  interchange  of  all  that  each  can  give  in  abun- 
dance to  its  rival. 

Here,  in  fact,  we  find  all  the  elements,  all  the  condi- 
tions, of  a  well-assorted  union,  a  true  marriage.  Is  there 
not  between  the  peoples  of  the  two  worlds  a  common 
basis,  an  essential,  indissoluble  tie,  which  they  are  not 
at  liberty  to  break  1  Are  they  not  all  the  children  of  a 
common  mother-race  ?  the  offspring  of  the  same  civiliza- 
tion, the  worshippers  of  the  same  one  God  and  Saviour  ? 
And  yet  there  is  an  individual  difference  of  character 
between  them,  arising  essentially  from  the  special  work 
to  which  each  seems  to  have  been  called  as  to  an 
appointed  task.  For  the  American,  this  task  is  to  work 
the  virgin  soil,  and  the  wealth  of  the  land  Providence 
has  granted  to  him,  for  his  own  benefit  and  that  of  the 
whole  world.  For  this  is  the  first  work  to  be  done,  that 
whereon  the  futurity  of  America  depends.  He  is  accom- 
plishing it — who  does  not  know?  —  with  a  fiery  activ- 
ity. He  has  not  too  much  of  all  the  resources  of 
industry  the  Old  World  and  his  own  experience  place 
at  his  disposal,  to  subdue  and  fashion  at  his  pleasure 
this  still  somewhat  savage  nature. 

Agriculture  here  already  assumes  proportions  un- 
known everywhere  else.  Commerce,  whose  business 
is  helping  the  world  to  share  the  wealth  of  its  soil,  is 
carried  on  upon  the  most  magnificent  scale,  and  cannot 


ALLIANCE  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS. 


237 


but  become  still  more  extended.  From  the  very  centre 
of  the  oceans  where  she  reposes,  America  sends  her 
ships  and  her  merchandise  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
Steam  will  soon  join  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  and 
the  Pacific,  and  place  the  United  States  on  the  great 
highway  from  Europe  to  China.  Thus  the  American 
displays  in  every  way  a  spirit  of  enterprise  that  goes 
even  to  the  length  of  audacity.  Nothing  daunts  him, 
nothing  seems  impossible  to  his  activity.  Every  brain 
is  teeming  with  the  most  gigantic  projects,  which  find 
always  an  echo  and  support.  There  is  certainly  some- 
thing of  grandeur  in  the  spectacle  of  the  youthful  vigor 
the  inhabitant  of  the  New  World  displays,  of  the  intel- 
ligent energy  with  which  he  does  his  work.  Whatever 
be  its  object  —  were  it  even  not  the  most  exalted  — 
still  such  energy  is  worthy  of  admiration. 

The  work  of  Europe,  her  special  task,  at  the  present 
moment,  is  not  the  same ;  for  her  position  is  altogether 
different.  Without  doubt,  industry,  commerce,  agricul- 
ture, employ  a  large  part  of  her  activity ;  but  the  exer- 
cise of  these  arts  is  not  the  predominant  and  characteris- 
tic feature  of  that  ancient  society.  Other  cares  occupy 
her.  The  desire  to  know,  rather  than  to  possess ;  reflec- 
tion,'more  than  action;  science,  more  than  its  applica- 
tion; movement  and  activity  in  the  intellectual  and 
moral  world,  rather  than  in  the  material  world ;  — 
these  are  what  distinguish  the  Old  World  and  its 
ancient  civilization. 

Thus  it  is  there  that  the  high  philosophical,  moral, 
social  questions  are  treated,  which  so  profoundly  task 
the  present  age ;  it  is  there  that  the  thousand  ideas,  the 


238 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


thousand  diverse  systems  in  all  the  branches  of  human 
science,  whose  variety  seems  an  inextricable  confusion  to 
the  eyes  of  the  mind  that  does  not  master  them,  bud  and 
blossom.  The  European  is  the  man  of  ripened  age,  who 
reflects  upon  men  and  things,  analyzes  the  causes,  and 
seeks  to  understand  the  lessons  of  the  spectacle  the 
world  presents.  The  American  is  the  young  man,  full 
of  fire  and  energy,  surrendering  himself  entirely  to  his 
activity,  and  drawing  from  life  the  practical  shrewdness 
and  the  sound  sense  experience  gives.  While  the  Euro- 
pean discusses  and  reasons,  the  American  acts  and 
executes. 

But,  gentlemen,  who  does  not  see  what  there  is  exclu- 
sive in  these  two  tendencies  ?  Who  does  not  understand 
to  how  many  mutual  wants  these  differences  must  give 
birth  ?  how  many  exchanges  of  every  kind  they  must 
stimulate?  what  activity,  what  fulness  of  life  and  of 
growth  for  both,  what  perfection  of  both  will  be  the 
result  of  these  intimate  relations?  Distressed  Europe 
seemed  unable  to  live  longer  without  emptying  its  popu- 
lation into  the  lap  of  America.  America  cannot  fulfil 
her  destinies  unless  wrought  out  and  brought  into  use 
by  the  intelligent  races  of  the  Old  World.  When  this 
work,  now  just  commencing,  shall  have  been  finished, 
then  only  shall  we  know  all  the  importance  of  America 
to  the  entire  race  of  man  ;  all  the  importance  of  the 
reactions  it  is  summoned  to  exercise  upon  the  Old 
World. 

The  Old  World  is  the  world  of  germs ;  the  New,  the 
fruitful  bosom  giving  them  increase.  Europe  thinks ; 
America  acts.   All  these  differences,  calling  for  and  com- 


SOLUTION  OF  THE  CONTRAST. 


239 


pleting  each  other,  are  they  not  the  promise  that  this 
contrast  of  the  Old  World  and  the  New  will  soon  also 
be  resolved  into  a  grand  and  beautiful  harmony  that 
shall  embrace  the  whole  earth  ? 

Yes,  gentlemen,  the  futurity  and  the  prosperity  of 
mankind  depend  on  the  union  of  the  two  worlds.  The 
bridals  have  been  solemnized.  We  have  witnessed 
the  first  interview,  the  preliminaries,  the  betrothal, 
the  espousal,  so  fortunate  for  both.  We  already  see 
enough  to  authorize  us  to  cherish  the  fairest  hopes, 
and  to  expect  with  confidence  their  realization. 


LECTURE  X. 


Contrast  of  the  three  continents  of  the  North  and  the  three  continents 
of  the  South  —  Physical  characteristics  of  the  two  groups ;  the  for- 
mer  more  articulated,  more  consolidated,  more  similar  ;  the  latter  more 
entire,  more  isolated,  more  different  —  These  differences  and  analogies 
reproduced  in  the  vegetation  and  the  animal  world —  The  three  con- 
tinents  of  the  North  temperate;  the  three  of  the  South  tropical — 
Superiority  of  the  tropical  climate  in  nature —  Gradual  increase  of 
life,  of  the  variety  and  improvement  of  the  types  of  organized  beings, 
in  proportion  to  the  warmth,  from  the  poles  to  the  equatorial  regions 
—  Man  alone  forms  an  exception  —  Law  of  the  distribution  of  the 
human  races  —  Geographical  centre  of  mankind  marked  by  the  race 
of  the  highest  perfection —  Gradual  degeneracy  of  the  human  type 
towards  the  southern  extremities  of  the  continents  —  TJie  geographical 
distribution  of  the  races  of  man  and  the  animals  founded  upon  a  differ- 
ent principle  —  Advantage  of  the  temperate  climate  for  the  improve- 
ment of  man. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

We  have  considered  the  whole  of  the  terrestrial 
masses,  as  grouped  in  two  great  individuals,  the  Old 
and  the  New  World,  which  have  exhibited  themselves  as 
possessing  each  a  special  character,  particular  advan- 
tages, but  completing  each  other,  and  forming,  as  it 
were,  two  halves  of  one  great  organization.  The  union 
of  these  two  worlds,  the  resources  of  which  have  been 
drawn  out  by  the  most  intelligent  and  active  races,  by 
the  most  advanced  societies,  is  the  condition,  and  must 
become  the  means  of  a  progress  of  the  human  race, 
much  superior  to  what  it  would  have  been  in  each  of 


NORTHERN  WORLD  AND  SOUTHERN  WORLD.  241 

the  two  worlds  isolated  from  each  other.  It  is  at  least 
the  hope  given  us  by  the  law  of  the  resolution  of  the  con- 
trasts into  a  more  perfect  harmonious  unity,  which  is  the 
natural  product  of  all  normal  development.  All  that 
passes  under  our  eyes  at  the  present  day,  this  life  of 
interchanges  between  the  two  worlds,  so  active,  so  pow- 
erful, so  progressive,  is  a  proof  that  we  are  advancing 
irresistibly  to  so  desirable  a  result. 

We  have  now  to  consider  our  continents  only  under 
one  remaining  aspect,  under  a  third  point  of  view,  which 
I  hope  will  disclose  to  us  some  of  the  hidden  influences 
they  seem  to  exercise  upon  the  life  of  man ;  or  rather, 
which  will  enable  us  to  observe  one  of  those  admirable 
harmonies  of  nature  and  history,  arranged  by  the  Creator 
himself  for  the  improvement  of  this  privileged  being,  for 
whom  all  nature  seems  made. 

This  third  contrast,  we  have  said,  is  that  of  the  north- 
ern and  of  the  southern  hemisphere,  or  rather  of  the 
three  continents  of  the  North  and  the  three  continents  of 
the  South.  We  have  considered  the  earth  as  divided  into 
an  Eastern  World  and  a  Western  World ;  we  shall  now 
see  it  distributed  into  a  Northern  World  and  a  Southern 
World. 

I  recall  this  curious  disposition  of  the  continental 
masses  I  pointed  out,  at  our  first  interview,  according  to 
Steffens,  which  consists  in  this,  that  each  northern  co:> 
tinent  has  south  of  it  a  southern  continent,  more  or  less 
connected  with  it,  whether  materially  by  an  isthmus  or 
a  chain  of  islands  and  an  archipelago,  or  by  the  prox- 
imity of  their  extreme  lands.  The  two  continents,  thus 
brought  near  together,  make  always  a  pair,  the  individ- 
21 


242 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


uals  being  at  once  connected  and  opposite  in  nature. 
Such  are  the  two  Americas,  —  a  perfect  type  of  the 
kind ;  such,  again,  are  Europe  and  Africa,  Asia  and 
Australia. 

This  arrangement,  then,  gives  us  three  continents  in 
the  North,  and  three  in  the  South.  Now,  combining  in 
this  point  of  view  the  prevailing  features  of  their  phys- 
ical configuration,  of  their  situation  and  of  their  climate, 
I  would  show  you :  — 

1.  That  the  continents  composing  each  of  the  two 
groups  have  common  characters,  the  three  in  the  North 
resembling  each  other,  and  the  three  in  the  South  pre- 
senting equally  strong  analogies. 

2.  That  these  characters  are  different  and  opposed  in 
the  two  groups,  and  constitute  a  contrast. 

3.  That  this  dissimilar  nature  assigns  to  the  one  a 
very  different  part  from  the  others  in  the  progress  of 
human  society. 

Let  us  see,  first,  how  they  are  distinguished  by  their 
general  forms  and  by  their  configuration. 

The  continents  of  the  North  are  more  outspread, 
more  extended,  and,  taken  together,  much  more  vast. 
They  embrace  all  the  plains  of  the  arctic  and  temperate 
regions,  the  most  considerable  and  the  most  continuous 
on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  and  forming  a  great  circular 
zone  of  low  lands  around  the  Frozen  Ocean.  The 
southern  continents  are  more  contracted,  more  narrowed 
and  pointed,  and,  in  the  whole,  less  extensive.  While 
the  three  first  embrace  a  surface  of  22 1  millions  of 
square  miles,  the  last  comprise  only  16|  millions. 

The  continents  of  the  North  are  more  indented,  more 


THE  NORTHERN  AND  SOUTHERN  CONTINENTS.  243 

articulated  ;  their  contours  are  more  varied.  Gulfs  and 
inland  seas  cut  very  deep  into  the  mass  of  their  lands, 
and  detach  from  the  principal  trunk  a  multitude  of 
peninsulas,  which,  like  so  many  different  organs  and 
members,  are  prepared  for  a  life,  in  some  sort,  inde- 
pendent. A  great  number  of  continental  islands  are 
scattered  along  their  shores,  and  are  a  new  source  of 
wealth  to  them.  The  plastic  forms  of  the  soil  are  still 
more  varied.  We  have  already  seen  that,  in  this  re- 
spect, Europe  and  Asia  present  the  most  complicated 
structure,  and  the  relative  situations  of  the  mountain 
chains  and  of  their  plateaus  and  their  plains,  exhaust, 
so  to  speak,  all  the  possible  combinations. 

The  southern  continents,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
massive,  entire,  without  indentations,  without  inland 
seas  or  deep  inlets,  scanty  in  articulations  of  every  kind, 
and  in  islands.  They  are  trunks  without  members, 
bodies  without  organs,  and  the  simplicity  of  their  inte- 
rior structure  answers  to  the  poverty  of  their  exterior 
forms. 

These  differences  are  carried  to  the  extreme  in  the 
Old  World,  where  the  rich  border  of  peninsulas  which 
deck  the  South  of  Asia  and  of  Europe,  hanging  like  the 
ample  folds  or  the  fringes  of  a  royal  robe,  form  a  strik- 
ing contrast  to  the  mean  and  naked  lines  of  Africa  and 
Australia.  In  the  New  World,  where  this  contrast  is 
softened,  by  reason  of  the  unity  of  plan  we  have  clearly 
made  out,  the  northern  continent  meantime  possesses  by 
itself  the  few  peninsulas  which  detach  themselves  from 
its  coasts,  Yucatan,  Florida,  Nova  Scotia,  Labrador, 
California,  and  the  peninsula  of  Aliaska. 


244  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

Already,  then,  by  the  forms  of  their  contours  and  of 
their  relief,  the  continents  of  the  North  are  more  open  to 
maritime  life,  to  the  life  of  commerce :  they  are  more 
richly  organized ;  they  are  better  made  to  stimulate  im- 
provement. 

The  relative  situations  of  the  continents  of  the  two 
groups  are  equally  dissimilar. 

The  northern  continents  are  brought  nearer  together, 
more  consolidated.  United,  they  form  the  central  mass 
of  all  the  lands  of  the  globe,  whence  the  others  appear 
to  radiate  in  all  directions,  losing  themselves  as  they 
taper  off  in  the  ocean.  For  this  reason,  they  have  a 
more  continental  character.  Owing  to  this  greater 
nearness,  to  the  facility  of  communication  between  one 
continent  and  another,  to  the  analogy  of  their  climate, 
which  we  shall  speak  of  by-and-by,  the  three  northern 
continents  have  a  mutual  relationship  not  to  be  mis- 
taken. From  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  along 
the  coast  of  temperate  Asia,  even  to  the  western  ex- 
tremity of  Europe,  the  vegetation  presents  the  same 
aspect,  the  same  general  physiognomy.  The  European 
traveller  finds,  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  this  im- 
mense space,  the  pine  forests,  the  oaks,  the  elms,  the 
maples  his  eye  has  been  accustomed  to  from  infancy. 
In  the  Himalaya,  the  Caucasus,  or  the  Balkan,  he 
beholds  again  with  delight  those  humble  but  graceful 
forms  of  the  flora  he  has  become  acquainted  with  in 
the  Alps  and  the  Pyrenees.  If  he  crosses  the  Atlantic, 
what  surprises  him  at  the  first  glance  is,  not  the  nov- 
elty of  the  vegetable  forms  which  he  was  perhaps  ex- 
pecting after  a  voyage  of  thirty-five  hundred  miles ;  it 


THE  NORTHERN  WORLD  MORE  ALIKE.  245 

is  the  resemblance  of  physiognomy  and  aspect,  so  great 
that,  in  the  bosom  of  the  vast  forests  of  Ohio  or  Canada, 
he  might  almost  believe  he  had  not  quitted  the  soil  of 
Europe.  Nevertheless,  we  hasten  to  say,  this  resem- 
blance is  not  identity.  The  eye  of  the  botanist,  even 
that  of  the  simple  observer,  would  soon  perceive  that, 
if  the  types  remain  the  same,  the  species  are  different. 
If  they  are  almost  always  analogous,  they  are  seldom 
identical. 

In  the  animal  world,  the  same  analogy  still.  Noth- 
ing is  more  alike,  at  the  first  view,  for  example,  than 
those  thousands  of  coleopterous  insects,  which  inhabit 
the  two  worlds.  The  same  air,  the  same  look  in  the 
corresponding  species.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  observed 
also  in  the  vegetative  kingdom,  and  still  mystery, 
that  a  given  genus,  in  Europe  composed  of  a  determi- 
nate number  of  species,  is  found  again  in  America,  with 
an  almost  equ.al  number  of  corresponding  species,  with 
the  same  particularities  of  forms  repeated,  even  to  the 
design  and  to  the  same  disposition  of  colors.  And  yet, 
to  the  trained  eye  of  the  naturalist,  every  American 
species  constitutes  one  very  distinct  from  the  analogous 
species  of  the  European  continent.  What  takes  place 
with  regard  to  the  genera  and  species  is  further  true  of 
certain  families  and  tribes.  The  examples  of  this  are 
numerous,  and  I  would  cite  them  but  for  the  fear  of 
offending  your  ears  by  names  which  would  appear  bar- 
barous. Relations  of  the  same  kind  exist  between  the 
vertebrates,  between  the  fishes,  between  the  birds  of  the 
two  worlds,  and  it  is  to  these  deceptive  resemblances 
that  the  confusion  of  species  and  the  mistakes  of  syn- 
21* 


.246 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


onyms  are  owing,  so  numerous  in  American  zoology, 
and  so  hurtful  to  its  progress.  The  mammalia,  finally, 
make  no  exception  to  this  law.  The  reindeer  is  com- 
mon to  the  polar  regions  of  the  three  continents ;  the 
bison  reminds  one  of  the  wild  bull  and  the  ox  of  Europe 
and  of  Asia;  the  bears,  also,  are  but  slightly  different 
from  those  of  the  Old  World ;  the  elk  and  certain  kinds 
of  stags  are  so  similar,  that  the  zoologist  is  still  in  doubt 
whether  they  constitute  different  species  or  not. 

Thus  the  resemblance  of  the  organized  beings  in  the 
three  continents  of  the  North  is  one  of  their  distinctive 
characters  ;  and  this  character  is  due  to  the  circumstance 
that,  in  proportion  as  the  species  change  with  the  longi- 
tude, their  place  is  taken  generally,  not  by  new  types, 
but  by  analogous  species.  Doubtless  the  similarity  of 
climate  is  one  of  the  most  active  causes  of  this  resem- 
blance ;  for  the  variety  of  the  genera,  the  differences 
between  the  species  of  the  three  continents,  augment 
according  to  the  elevation  of  temperature ;  but  this  is  not 
enough  to  explain  the  fact  entirely ;  we  shall  see  that 
the  continents  of  the  South,  under  similar  latitudes  and 
in  similar  temperatures,  offer  types  of  animals  and  of 
vegetation  very  different  in  each  of  them. 

The  continents  of  the  South  are  more  remote  from 
each  other  than  the  foregoing.  Broad  oceans  separate 
them  even  to  isolation.  Scarcely  any  communication 
is  possible  between  lands  so  distant ;  at  all  events,  they 
are  only  indirect.  Shut  up  in  themselves,  incapable  of 
reacting  upon  each  other  and  of  modifying  their  respec- 
tive natures,  these  continents  are  excluded  from  all 
community  of  life.    What  is  there  astonishing,  then,  in 


THE  SOUTHERN  CONTINENTS  MORE  UNLIKE.  £47 

seeing  their  differences  carried  to  an  extreme,  their 
characters  exaggerated  ? 

The  organized  beings  of  the  two  kingdoms  in  these 
three  continents  have,  in  reality,  almost  ceased  to  pos- 
sess anything  in  common.  Not  only  the  species  that 
characterize  their  floras  and  their  faunas  are  different, 
but  they  are  no  longer  analogous,  and  the  prevailing 
forms,  the  grand  types,  are  partly  quite  different.  This 
is  true,  above  all,  of  their  southern  extremities,  of  their 
points,  more  isolated  still  than  the  central  or  northern 
parts.  In  Australia,  it  is  the  gigantic  Myrtacete,  the 
flaring  Eucalypti,  so  varied ;  the  Melaleucas,  the  numer- 
ous species  of  which  compose  the  greater  part  of  the 
trees  of  the  forests  ;  it  is  the  graceful  Mimosas,  and  their 
Acacias  with  leaf-like  branches ;  it  is  the  meagre  Casua- 
rinas,  and  still  other  forms  whose  stunted  foliage  betrays 
the  dryness  of  the  soil,  that  give  a  particular  physiog- 
nomy to  the  whole  aspect  of  nature.  Marsupials  of 
huge  size,  the  kangaroos,  and  other  analogous  animals, 
gambol  in  these  forests  and  in  the  vast  savannas;  in  the 
marshes,  the  Ornithorhynchus,  unknown  to  every  other 
continent,  whose  shapeless  type  brings  to  mind  the 
earliest  ages  of  the  world,  and  seems  not  to  belong  to 
the  existing  epoch. 

In  Southern  Africa,  other  forms  are  found,  another 
nature.  With  the  pale  foliage  of  the  Proteaceae,  are 
blended  the  Stapelias,  the  aloes,  with  their  pulpy  leaves 
and  their  brilliant  corollas ;  the  Iridese,  with  their  bold 
bearing  and  splendid  colors ;  the  geraniums :  the  heaths, 
above  all,  the  numberless  species  of  which  astonish  the 
eye  by  their  variety,  as  much  as  they  charm  it  by  their 


248. 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


modest  grace.  In  place  of  the  jumping  kangaroos,  herds 
of  nimble  gazelles  and  graceful  antelopes  wander  over 
the  vast  plains  of  the  high  regions  of  Africa.  The 
hyena,  the  panther,  the  lion,  strangers  to  Australia,  and 
witnesses  to  a  stronger  and  nobler  nature;  the  giraffe, 
which  Africa  alone  possesses ;  all,  in  a  word,  assume 
another  aspect  and  a  peculiar  stamp. 

If  we  pass  now  to  South  America,  the  animated  world 
changes  its  physiognomy  still  again.  The  preponderance 
and  the  variety  of  its  palm  trees  ;  in  the  richest  regions, 
the  cactus,  whose  heavy  form  contrasts  with  the  daz- 
zling colors  of  the  flowers ;  then  the  clumsy  armadillos, 
the  tapirs,  the  ant-eaters,  the  long-tailed  apes,  and  so 
many  other  animals  characteristic  of  this  continent, 
which  we  have  already  named ; — all  this  has  nothing  to 
remind  us  of  Africa. 

Thus,  between  the  three  southern  continents  there  is 
no  community;  out  of  437  genera  of  the  Australian 
flora,  scarcely  80  are  met  with  in  Africa ;  no  analogous 
species,  substitutes  for  each  other ;  none  of  those  social 
plants  covering  whole  provinces  in  Europe,  Asia,  and 
North  America,  and  giving  them  a  like  character.  The 
280  species  of  heath  of  the  Cape  occupy  a  space  scarcely 
so  extensive  as  is  occupied  in  the  North  of  Europe  by  the 
common  heather  {Erica  vulgaris)  alone,  so  extensively 
growing  in  its  barren  regions.  Thus,  in  the  North, 
we  have  combination,  association,  resemblance;  in  the 
South,  separation,  isolation,  dissimilarity. 

But  if  the  northern  continents  are  evidently  favored 
by  their  forms  and  their  grouping,  is  it  the  same  also 
trith  their  climate? 


DIFFERENCE  OF  CLIMATE. 


249 


The  astronomical  situation  of  these  two  groups  is,  in 
reality,  quite  different.  In  consequence  of  the  general 
arrangement  of  the  lands,  crowding  them  in  a  mass 
towards  the  North,  the  three  continents  of  the  North  are 
situated  almost  entirely  in  the  temperate  zone,  in  the 
middle  latitudes.  North  America  and  Europe  are  en- 
tirely in  the  temperate  and  frozen  zones ;  Asia  is  so  with 
respect  to  its  principal  mass,  and  touches  the  tropical 
regions  only  by  its  southern  extremity.  Thus  it  is  seven 
parts  temperate  and  cold  for  one  tropical. 

The  southern  continents,  on  the  contrary,  expose  their 
principal  and  most  important  mass  to  the  rays  of  the 
equatorial  sun.  Africa  has  four  parts  out  of  five  in  the 
tropical  zone,  and  the  fifth  is  situated  in  the  warm  tem- 
perate, and  moreover  is  divided  into  two  narrow  belts, 
separated  on  the  north  and  the  south  of  the  body  of  the 
continent.  South  America  has  five  parts  out  of  six  in 
the  tropics,  and  the  sixth  part,  temperate,  is  composed 
only  of  the  southern  point,  the  poorest  in  all  respects, 
which  cannot  claim  to  stamp  its  character.  Australia, 
finally,  belongs  three  fifths  only  to  the  torrid  zone; 
nevertheless,  it  should  be  said  that  the  other  two  fifths, 
situated  in  the  warm  temperate  zone,  give  it  its  distinc- 
tive physiognomy,  so  that  we  have  called  it  the  sub- 
tropical continent. 

Thus,  taken  as  a  whole,  and  in  their  prevailing  char- 
acter, the  three  northern  continents  are  temperate,  the 
three  southern  continents  are  tropical. 

Which  are  the  most  favored  ?  which  are  those  we 
consider  superior  to  the  others  ? 

The  answer  would  be  easy,  if  the  existence  of  the 


25A  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

continents  had  no  other  definite  end  than  the  exhibition 
of  the  whole  physical  life  of  nature.  But  let  us  not 
forget  that  they  are  to  serve  a  much  higher  end  still ; 
they  are  to  serve  the  development  of  man,  and  of  human 
societies.  It  is  in  this  two-fold  point  of  view  that  we 
ought  to  consider  them. 

In  the  order  of  nature,  and  at  the  first  approach,  we 
cannot  deny  to  the  tropical  continents  a  marked  superi- 
ority. The  most  powerful  spring  of  physical  life,  the 
most  active  source,  surpassing  all  the  others,  is  the  heat 
of  that  life-giving  orb  the  ancient  poets  sang,  and  the 
nations  of  the  world,  forgetting  the  only  true  Creator 
of  all  things,  adored  as  the  parent  of  Nature.  But  by 
reason  of  the  spherical  form  of  the  earth,  each  district 
of  the  surface  receives  an  unequal  portion.  Slanting, 
scattered,  and  feeble  in  the  regions  neighboring  the 
poles,  the  beams  of  the  sun  assume  more  strength,  and 
fall  thicker  in  the  middle  regions ;  in  those  of  the  equator 
only,  they  gain  all  their  intensity,  all  their  splendor. 
Now,  in  this  same  proportion,  we  see  the  development 
of  life  increase  in  energy  and  variety,  from  the  poles  to 
the  equator. 

What  do  we,  in  reality,  see  in  the  polar  and  frozen 
countries  of  the  North  of  our  continent?  During  the 
greatest  part  of  the  year,  life  seems  almost  extinguished 
by  the  rigorous  cold  of  a  perpetual  winter.  A  colorless 
and  stunted  vegetation,  a  few  creeping  shrubs,  none  of 
those  stately  forests,  which  everywhere  make  the  orna- 
ment of  the  landscape;  endless  plains  covered  with 
mosses  and  lichens,  composed  of  only  a  few  species, 
notwithstanding  the  immense  number  of  their  indi- 


PROGRESS  WITH  INCREASE  OF  HEAT. 


351 


viduals.  This  is  the  flora  of  the  cold  regions.  The 
preponderance  of  the  cryptogamous  plants,  that  is,  of  the 
inferior  forms  of  vegetation,  the  small  number  of  the 
genera  and  the  species,  the  absence  or  scarcity  of 
arborescent  vegetation,  give  it  that  character  of  poverty 
and  uniformity  which  strikes  us  in  these  desolated  lands. 
The  animal  kingdom,  thanks  to  greater  freedom  of  loco- 
motion, is  better  represented;  but  the  small  number 
of  types  and  the  preponderance  of  marine  animals,  still 
keep  up%  character  of  inferiority  not  to  be  misunder- 
stood. 

In  the  temperate  zone,  the  number  of  genera  and 
species  is  more  than  doubled ;  the  superior  types  acquire 
a  fuller  development  and  more  importance.  In  the  vege- 
tation, the  preponderance  of  the  phanerogamous  plants, 
the  beauty  of  the  forests,  the  appearance  of  evergreen 
trees,  are  the  signs  of  an  immense  progress.  Meantime, 
the  soft  tints,  the  modest  forms,  the  winter  sleep,  still  in- 
terrupting the  life  of  vegetation  during  long  months,  tell 
us  that  the  triumph  of  life  is  not  yet  complete.  The 
same  progress  goes  on  in  animal  life ;  the  land  animals 
prevail ;  the  animal  species  become  more  numerous  and 
more  diverse. 

But  it  is  in  the  hot  region  of  the  tropics  that  the  life 
of  nature  displays  its  fullest  energy,  its  greatest  diversity, 
its  most  dazzling  splendors.  We  have  already  seen  what 
it  can  produce  in  those  favored  countries  of  India  and 
the  Indian  archipelago,  where  all  the  conditions  seem 
brought  together  to  secure  to  physical  life  its  richest 
development.  The  cryptogamous  plants  attain,  in  the 
arborescent  ferns,  the  proportions  of  our  forest  trees. 


252  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

The  grasses,  which  we  only  know  in  our  climates  under 
the  humble  forms  they  put  on  in  our  fields  and  pastures, 
rise  into  the  elegant  and  majestic  bamboo,  to  the  height 
of  60  to  70  feet,  and  become  real  trees,  whose  hard  and 
hollow  trunks  serve  for  the  construction  of  public  edi- 
fices, as  well  as  for  that  of  private  houses.  There,  the 
entire  forests  seem  double  in  height,  and  of  a  density 
unknown  in  our  climates.  A  single  tree  is  a  garden, 
wherein  a  hundred  different  plants  intertwine  their 
branches,  and  display  their  brilliant  flowers  orra  ground 
of  verdure,  where  the  varied  hues  and  forms  of  their 
leaves  are  blended  together.  The  number  of  the  species, 
the  beauty  of  the  types,  are  not  less  astonishing.  While, 
in  America,  the  temperate  zones  of  the  two  hemispheres 
furnish  scarcely  more  than  four  thousand  species  of 
plants,  the  tropical  region  of  this  same  continent  has 
already  made  known  more  than  thirteen  thousand ;  so 
that  probably  the  comparatively  narrow  zone  of  the 
tropics  contains  much  more  than  half  of  the  vegetable 
species  living  on  the  surface  of  our  continents. 

The  animal  kingdom  is  no  less  developed,  as  we 
already  know,  in  this  privileged  zone.  The  boundless 
variety  of  species,  the  vivacity  of  the  colors,  the  diver- 
sity of  the  shades,  strike  us  in  the  insects  and  the  birds. 
We  admire  the  lofty  stature  and  the  strength  of  those 
great  pachyderms  that  people  its  forests  and  its  rivers ; 
the  force  and  vigor  of  the  ferocious  inhabitants  of  the 
deserts  of  Africa  and  the  Ganges.  It  is  true,  gentlemen ; 
here  Nature  triumphs ;  here  she  displays  herself  in  all 
her  brilliancy. 

Such  is  the  law  in  the  physical  world.  Nature  goes 
on  adding  perfection  to  perfection,  from  the  polar  regions 


PROGRESS  WITH  INCREASE  OF  HEAT.  253 

to  the  temperate  zones,  from  the  temperate  zones  to  the 
region  of  the  greatest  heat.  Animal  life  grows  in  strength 
and  development;  the  types  are  improved;  intelligence 
increases;  the  forms  approach  the  human  figure;  the 
orang-outang  already  stands  erect  upon  his  feet ;  trained 
up  by  man,  he  has  been  seen  to  sit  at  his  table  and  to 
eat  with  him ;  the  negro  of  the  woods,  deceived  by  these 
appearances,  regards  him  as  a  degenerated  brother,  who 
holds  h^  tongue  only  from  a  desire  to  get  rid  of  work. 
Evidentry  the  development  of  the  animal  here  touches 
upon  its  highest  expression. 

This  ascending  series  will  then  rise  to  its  termination 
in  man,  who,  in  his  figure,  is  the  crowning  excellence  of 
the  whole  animal  world,  and  the  realization  of  its  very 
idea ;  and  the  tropical  man  also  will  be  the  highest,  the 
purest  type  of  humanity,  and,  physically  speaking,  the 
most  beautiful  of  his  species.  All  zoology,  all  nature, 
gentlemen,  authorize  us  to  draw  this  conclusion,  and,  for 
my  part,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  believing  that  it  would 
be  so  if  man  had  no  other  rank  upon  this  earth,  and  no 
other  functions  than  those  assigned  him  by  his  physical 
nature. 

No,  indeed,  gentlemen,  it  is  no  such  thing.  Who  does 
not  know  that  man  makes  here  a  wonderful  exception  ? 
Far  from  exhibiting  that  harmonious  outline,  those  noble 
and  elevated  forms,  all  those  perfections  the  chisel  of  a 
Phidias  or  a  Praxiteles  has  combined  upon  a  single 
head,  the  tropical  man  displays  only  those  unfortunate 
figures  which  seem  to  approach  ever  nearer  and  nearer 
the  animal,  and  which  betray  the  instincts  of  the  brute  ; 
those  figures  which  we  always  behold  with,  I  know  not 
22 


254 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


what  of  secret  uneasiness,  that  would  threaten  to  grow 
into  disgust,  were  not  the  feeling  lost  in  pity  still  more 
profound,  and  in  the  charity  of  a  Christian  heart.  Even 
in  that  India,  where  physical  life  attains  the  utmost 
limits  known  to  our  earth,  the  indigenous  man  is  a 
black ;  the  white  race — history  compels  us  to  believe  it 
— has  descended  thither  from  the  temperate  regions  of 
Western  Asia.  1 

If  the  distribution  of  the  human  races  on  th^surface 
of  the  globe  does  not  follow  the  law  of  the  rest  or  mature, 
what,  then,  is  the  law  that  regulates  it?  Or,  indeed,  is 
there  some  great  fact  which  may  prove  to  be  a  rule  in 
this  seeming  confusion  ? 

Much  has  been  said,  gentlemen,  much  has  been 
written,  on  this  important  question  of  the  human  races 
—  one  of  the  most  difficult  and  the  most  delicate  the 
science  of  nature  and  history  can  propose  to  itself.  I 
am  not  going  to  discuss  it  here ;  but  what  I  desire  is,  to 
establish,  in  this  province  also,  a  great  general  fact, 
which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  has  not  been  sufficiently 
insisted  on,  and  to  which  has  not  been  attributed  the 
importance  it  deserves.    This  fact  is  the  following : 

While  all  the  types  of  animals  and  of  plants  go  on 
decreasing  in  perfection,  from  the  equatorial  to  the  polar 
regions,  in  proportion  to  the  temperatures,  man  presents 
to  our  view  his  purest,  his  most  perfect  type,  at  the  very 
centre  of  the  temperate  continents,  at  the  centre  of  Asia- 
Europe,  in  the  regions  of  Iran,  of  Armenia,  and  of  the 
Caucasus ;  and,  departing  from  this  geographical  centre 
in  the  three  grand  directions  of  the  lands,  the  types 
gradually  lose  the  beauty  of  their  forms,  in  proportion 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  RACES. 


255 


to  their  distance,  even  to  the  extreme  points  of  the 
southern  continents,  where  we  find  the  most  deformed 
and  degenerate  races,  and  the  lowest  in  the  scale  of 
humanity. 

Please  to  cast  a  glance  upon  this  series  of  drawings, 
portraits  taken  from  nature,  from  individuals  who  seemed 
to  have  the  most  characteristic  features  of  their  respec- 
tive races,  and  you  will  be  convinced  that  the  fact  exists. 
(See  plates  v.  and  vi.) 

Let  us  take  for  a  type  of  the  central  region  of  Western 
Asia,  this  head  of  a  Caucasian.  What  strikes  us  imme- 
diately is  the  regularity  of  the  features,  the  grace  of  the 
lines,  the  perfect  harmony  of  all  the  figure.  The  head 
is  oval;  no  part  is  too  prominent  beyond  the  others; 
nothing  salient  nor  angular  disturbs  the  softness  of  the 
lines  that  round  it.  The  face  is  divided  into  three  equal 
parts  by  the  line  of  the  eyes  and  that  of  the  mouth. 
The  eyes  are  large,  well  cut,  not  too  near  the  nose  nor 
too  far  from  it ;  their  axis  is  placed  on  a  single  straight 
line,  at  right  angles  with  the  line  of  the  nose.  The 
facial  angle  is  90  degrees.  The  stature  is  tall,  lithe, 
well  proportioned ;  the  shoulders  neither  too  broad  nor 
too  narrow.  The  length  of  the  extended  arms  is  equal 
to  the  whole  height  of  the  body ;  in  one  word,  all  the 
proportions  reveal  the  perfect  harmony  which  is  the 
essence  of  beauty.  Such  is  the  type  of  the  white  race — 
the  Caucasian,  as  it  has  been  agreed  to  call  it  —  the 
most  pure,  the  most  perfect  type  of  humanity. 

In  proportion  as  we  depart  from  the  geographical 
centre  of  the  races  of  man,  the  regularity  diminishes, 
the  harmony  of  the  proportions  disappears.    Let  us 


256 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


follow  them  first  in  the  direction  of  Europe  and  of 
Africa. 

Although  the  European  may  be  considered  as  making 
a  part  of  this  central  race,  his  features  have  less  of  regu- 
larity, of  symmetry ;  but  more  animation,  more  mobility, 
more  life,  more  expression.  In  him,  beauty  is  less  phys- 
ical and  more  moral. 

If  we  pass  into  Africa,  we  meet  the  Arab,  who, 
whether  in  his  own  country  or  in  Algeria,  shows  already 
a  forehead  slightly  retreating,  a  head  lengthened  out  of 
proportion.  The  Galla  of  Abyssinia  is  almost  black, 
his  long  hair  begins  to  crisp,  his  lips  are  often  thick. 
The  CafFre  has  the  woolly  hair  and  thick  lips  of  the 
negro.  The  Hottentot,  lastly,  so  struck  the  first  colo- 
nists of  the  Cape  by  his  ugliness,  that  he  served  for  a 
long  time  as  a  symbol  to  express  the  most  degraded 
state  of  humanity.  On  the  other  coast  of  Africa,  more 
remote  from  Asia,  the  degeneracy  of  form  is  still  more 
rapid.  The  Berbers  of  the  Atlas  still  evidently  belong 
to  the  Caucasian  race;  but  their  prolonged  head,  a 
tendency  in  the  mouth  to  pouting,  the  spare  and  meagre 
forms,  a  deeper  color,  already  herald  a  marked  degen- 
eration. The  Fellatahs  of  Soudan,  and  still  more  the 
inhabitants  of  Senegal,  bring  us  to  the  pure  type  of  the 
Congo  negro.  In  the  latter,  the  retreating  forehead,  the 
prominent  mouth,  the  thick  lips,  the  flat  nose,  the  woolly 
head,  the  strongly  developed  hind-head,  announce  the 
preponderance  of  the  sensual  and  physical  appetites 
over  the  nobler  faculties  of  the  intellect.  At  the  extrem- 
ity of  Africa,  the  miserable  Bushmen  are  still  lower 
than  the  Hottentots;  and,  placed  by  the  side  of  the 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  RACES. 


261 


Caucasian,  make  us  see  how  immense  the  distance 
which  separates  them. 

If,  turning  towards  Eastern  Asia,  we  direct  our  looks 
as  far  as  the  extremity  of  Australia,  the  decreasing 
beauty  of  the  form  is  not  less  perceptible,  not  less  grad- 
ual. The  Mongolian,  with  his  prominent  cheek-bones, 
his  eyes  compressed,  wide  apart,  and  elevated  at  their 
outer  corners,  his  triangular  figure,  his  squab  and  square 
form,  is  wanting  in  harmony  throughout  his  entire  per- 
son. The  Malays  seem  to  have  sprung  from  a  mixture 
of  the  Mongolian  with  White  race,  which  often  improves 
the  type.  The  Papoo  of  New  Guinea,  in  spite  of  the 
blackness  of  his  skin,  still  preserves  some  advantages 
of  form ;  but  the  South  Australian,  with  his  gaunt  body, 
his  lean  members,  his  bending  knees,  his  hump  back, 
his  projecting  jaws,  presents  the  most  melancholy  assem- 
blage the  human  figure  can  offer.  These  portraits  of 
an  Australian  warrior  and  of  a  native  woman  of  Van 
Diemen's  Land,  show  the  last  degree  to  which  ugliness 
can  go  in  this  being,  created  so  perfect,  and  destined  to 
be  the  lord  of  all  the  world. 

In  the  third  direction,  that  of  America,  the  same  law 
makes  itself  felt.  This  face  of  an  Oto  Indian  chief 
would  have  still  some  advantages,  if  the  prominence  of 
the  cheek-bones,  a  slight  elevation  of  the  outer  angle 
of  the  eyes,  and  the  size  of  the  jaw,  did  not  clearly 
betray  a  less  perfect  nature.  In  the  South  American 
Indian,  all  these  defects  are  still  more  exaggeiated,  and 
give  to  the  races  of  the  §>outh,  compared  with  those  of 
the  North,  a  very  marked  character  of  inferiority. 
Finally,  at  the  extreme  point  of  the  continent,  and  in 


262 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Terra  del  Fuego,  live  the  Pecherays,  the  most  misshapen, 
the  farthest  from  any  culture,  the  most  wretched,  of  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  New  World. 

It  would  be  still  the  same  in  advancing  towards  the 
poles.  Passing  the  Finns,  we  arrive  at  the  Laplanders ; 
through  the  Mongolians,  we  reach  the  Tongoos,  the 
Samoiedes  of  Siberia,  and  the  Esquimaux  of  North 
America. 

Thus,  in  all  directions,  in  proportion  as  we  remove 
from  the  geographical  seat  of  the  most  beautiful  human 
type,  the  degeneration  becomes  greater,  the  debasement 
of  the  form  more  complete.  Does  not  this  surprising 
coincidence  seem  to  designate  those  Caucasian  regions 
as  the  cradle  of  man,  the  point  of  departure  for  the 
tribes  of  the  earth  ? 

It  results  from  this  remarkable  distribution  of  the 
races  of  man,  that  the  continents  of  the  North,  forming 
the  central  mass  of  the  lands,  are  inhabited  by  the  finest 
races,  and  present  the  most  perfect  types;  while  the 
continents  of  the  South,  forming  the  extreme  and  far- 
sundered  points  of  the  lands,  are  exclusively  occupied 
by  the  inferior  races,  and  the  most  imperfect  representa- 
tives of  human  nature.  This  contrast  is  more  decided 
in  the  Old  World  than  in  the  New ;  nevertheless,  in  the 
latter,  notwithstanding  the  inferiority  of  the  copper- 
colored  race,  we  have  seen  that  the  man  of  the  Northern 
race,  the  Indian  of  Missouri,  has  a  marked  superiority 
over  the  Indian  of  the  South,  over  the  Botocudes,  the 
Guaranis,  and  the  Pecherays  of  South  America. 

The  degree  of  culture  of  the  nations  bears  a  proportion 
to  the  nobleness  of  their  race.    The  races  of  the  northern 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  RACES. 


263 


continents  of  the  Old  World  alone  are  civilized;  the 
southern  continents  have  remained  savage.  In  America, 
the  civilized  Aztecs  of  Mexico  have  come  from  the  North. 
The  ancient  civilization  of  the  Quichuas,  at  the  summit's 
of  the  Andes  of  Peru,  scarcely  seems  itself  indigenous 
to  South  America.  It  belongs  elsewhere  by  its  elevated 
position ;  it  belongs  to  the  temperate  zone. 

Now  these  differences  between  the  .North  and  the 
South  are  not  of  yesterday,  nor  to-day.  If  we  consult 
the  memorials  of  these  tribes,  without  written  history, — 
,  bounded  and  scanty  as  they  are,  —  it  might  seem  that 
it  has  been  the  same  from  a  time  ascending  beyond  all 
our  traditions,  if  we  except  the  Bible.  No  indication 
brings  to  light  in  these  tropical  continents  the  existence, 
at  another  epoch,  of  a  purer  type,  of  a  more  perfect  race 
of  men,  than  the  inferior  form  Ave  there  meet  with  at 
the  present  day.  The  annals  of  the  tribes  in  no  part  of 
these  continents,  record  either  the  birth  or  the  progress 
of  a  civilization  which  has  contributed  to  the  brilliant 
development  of  the  present  condition  of  man.  Man  has 
there  always  remained  at  the  bottom  of  the  scale  of 
culture;  while,  from  the  earliest  days  of  the  world, 
history  marks  out  the  temperate  continents  as  the  seat 
of  the  refined  communities.  As  there  is  a  temperate 
hemisphere  and  a  tropical  hemisphere,  we  may,  in  the 
same  manner,  say  there  is  a  civilized  hemisphere,  and  a 
savage  hemisphere. 

The  distribution  of  man  over  the  surface  of  the  globe, 
and  that  of  the  other  organized  beings,  are  not  then 
founded  on  the  same  principle.  There  is  a  particular 
law  which  presides  over  the  distribution  of  the  human 


264 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


races  and  of  civilized  communities,  taken  at  their  cradle, 
in  their  infancy ;  a  different  law  from  that  which  gov- 
erns the  distribution  of  plants  and  animals. 

In  the  latter,  the  degree  of  perfection  of  the  types  is 
proportional  to  the  intensity  of  heat,  and  of  the  other 
agents  stimulating  the  display  of  material  life.  The 
law  is  of  a  physical  order. 

In  man,  the  degree  of  perfection  of  the  types  is  in  pro- 
portion to  the  degree  of  intellectual  and  moral  improve- 
ment.   The  law  is  of  a  moral  order. 

Thus  the  geographical  march  of  the  perfection  of 
the  species,  from  the  poles  to  the  equator,  is  suddenly 
broken  when  man  appears,  to  recommence  on  a  plan 
wholly  new. 

This  difference  between  the  two  laws  has  its  principle 
in  the  profound  difference  existing  between  the  nature 
and  destination  of  these  distinct  beings.  The  plant  and 
the  animal  are  not  required  to  become  a  different  thing" 
from  what  they  already  are  at  the  moment  of  their 
birth.  Their  idea,  as  the  philosophers  would  say,  is 
realized  in  its  fulness  by  the  fact  alone  of  their  material 
appearance,  and  of  their  physical  organization.  The 
end  of  their  existence  is  attained,  for  they  are  only  of  a 
physical  nature.  But  with  man  it  is  quite  otherwise. 
Man,  created  in  the  image  of  God,  is  of  a  free  and 
moral  nature.  The  physical  man,  however  admirable 
may  be  his  organization,  is  not  the  true  man ;  he  is  not 
an  aim,  but  a  means ;  he  is  not  an  end,  like  the  animal, 
but  a  beginning.  There  is  another,  new-born,  but 
destined  to  grow  up  in  him,  and  to  unfold  the  moral 
and  religious  nature  until  he  attain  the  perfect  stature 


CAUSE  OF  DIFFERENCE. 


265 


of  his  master  and  pattern,  who  is  Christ.  It  is  the 
intellectual  and  the  moral  man,  the  spiritual  man. 

The  law  of  development,  if  I  may  say  so,  is  the  law 
of  man,  the  law  of  the  human  race,  and  of  human 
societies ;  now,  the  free  and  moral  being  cannot  unfold 
his  nature  without  education ;  he  cannot  grow  to  matu- 
rity, except  by  the  exercise  of  the  faculties  he  has 
received  as  his  inheritance. 

Here  is  the  reason,  gentlemen,  that  the  Creator  has 
placed  the  cradle  of  mankind  in  the  midst  of  the  conti- 
nents of  the  North,  so  well  made,  by  their  forms,  by 
their  structure,  by  their  climate,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  to 
stimulate  and  hasten  individual  development  and  that 
of  human  societies ;  and  not  at  the  centre  of  the  tropical 
regions,  whose  balmy,  but  enervating  and  treacherous, 
atmosphere  would  perhaps  have  lulled  him  to  sleep  the 
sleep  of  death  in  his  very  cradle. 

Have  we  not  the  sad  picture  of  what  might  have 
become  of  man,  if  he  had  had  for  his  birth-place  only 
the  warm  regions  of  the  earth,  in  the  wretched  condition 
in  which  our  unfortunate  brethren  of  the  inferior  races 
still  live,  wandering  to  the  furthest  extremities  of  the 
tropical  climates  1 

The  fact  of  the  gradual  modification  of  the  human 
types  as  we  depart  from  a  central  race,  seems  to  me  to 
establish  between  all  the  varieties  of  mankind,  however 
remote  they  may  otherwise  appear  from  the  most  perfect 
type,  a  bond  of  union,  which,  after  having  been  estab- 
lished, science  is  not  at  liberty  to  pass  over  in  silence, 
without  taking  into  account.  Now,  if  we  consider  the 
question  of  the  formation  of  the  races  in  the  point  of 
23 


266 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


view  we  have  just  assumed,  perhaps  we  shall  see 
this  field,  once  so  dark,  illuminated  by  some  gleams  of 
light. 

However,  before  proceeding  further,  let  us  set  forth 
one  fact  more,  no  less  undeniable ;  for,  in  speaking  of 
man,  we  must  not  forget  there  are  always  two  sides  to 
consider  ;  the  one  physical,  the  other  moral. 

Western  Asia  is  not  only  the  geographical  centre  of 
the  human  face,  but  it  is,  moreover,  the  spiritual  centre : 
it  is  the  cradle  of  man's  moral  nature.  Was  it  not  there 
that  those  divine  teachings  were  proclaimed,  which  the 
most  cultivated  communities  in  the  world  regard  as 
their  dearest  treasure,  and  every  man  who  loves  the 
true,  acknowledges  to  be  Truth  itself?  Was  it  not 
there  that  the  chosen  people  lived,  to  whom  they  were 
given  in  trust  to  preserve  for  the  world  until  the  time 
appointed  by  the  Supreme  Wisdom  ?  Was  it  not  there 
that  the  Saviour  of  all  the  members  of  the  human 
family  appeared,  and  the  gospel  of  grace  and  liberty 
was  preached,  in  the  lowly  valleys  of  Judea — that 
gospel  which  recognized  neither  Jew,  nor  Greek,  nor 
Gentile,  nor  barbarian,  and  which  invites  all  the  races 
of  the  earth  to  salvation,  without  distinction  ?  Is  it  not 
from  the  height  of  the  sacred  mount  where  He  died 
upon  the  cross  for  all,  that  Christ  bids  every  human 
soul,  whatever  be  the  ephemeral  form  of  its  earthly 
covering,  to  a  spiritual  union  which  he  will  consummate 
in  his  glory?  And  these  great  facts,  gentlemen,  in- 
teresting to  every  human  being,  these  facts  whose 
blessed  consequences  surround  us  on  all  sides  at  the 
present  day,  belong  not  to  the  number  of  those  that  any 


IMPROVEMENT,   THE  LAW  OF  MAN. 


267 


historical  unbelief  can  ever  strike  out  of  the  annals  of 
mankind.  Nor  are  they  of  secondary  importance, 
considered  merely  in  the  results  already  accomplished ; 
for  who  will  maintain  that,  even  in  the  future,  man 
will  ever  witness  an  event  more  important  for  him 
than  the  appearance  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  universal  gospel,  destined  to  unite  all  men, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  bind  them  all  to  their  common 
Creator  ? 

Now,  if  man  came  from  the  hands  of  the  divine 
Author  of  his  being,  pure  and  noble,  it  was  in  those 
privileged  countries  where  God  placed  his  cradle,  in  the 
focus  of  spiritual  light,  that  he  had  the  best  chance  to 
keep  himself  such.  But  how  has  he  fallen  elsewhere 
so  low?  It  is  because  he  was  free,  of  a  perfectible 
nature,  and  consequently  capable  also  of  falling.  In  the 
path  of  development,  not  to  advance  is  to  go  back ;  it  is 
impossible  to  remain  stationary.  The  animal  does  not 
degenerate,  because  the  form  of  his  existence  is  neces- 
sary ;  he  is  not  required  to  add  anything.  But  man,  who 
should  grow  in  perfection  by  the  constant  exercise  of  the 
higher  faculties  of  his  nature,  by  struggling  against  the 
evil  inclinations  of  a  perverted  will,  man  descends  ever- 
more, and  proceeds  from  fall  to  fall,  if  he  neglects  those 
divine  gifts,  and  abandons  himself  to  the  low  instincts 
of  his  animal  nature.  He  goes  down  to  the  life  of  the 
brute,  whose  form  and  semblance  he  takes.  And  what 
will  come  to  pass  if,  separated  from  his  God?  and  forget- 
ting Him,  he  voluntarily  stops  the  sources  of  the  higher 
life,  and  moral  life  ?  Remote  from  the  focus  of  tradition, 
where  he  might  renew  the  temper  of  his  faith,  he 


268  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

remains  unarmed  in  combat  with  that  mighty  nature 
that  subjugates  him ;  he  yields  in  the  struggle,  and, 
vanquished,  bears  soon  upon  his  figure  the  ineffaceable 
mark  of  bondage.  Thus,  perhaps,  might  one,  I  do  not 
say  explain,  but  conceive,  the  incontestable  influence  of 
each  continent,  and  each  region  of  the  earth,  on  the 
physical  forms,  the  character  and  the  temperament  of 
the  man  who  dwells  in  it,  and  the  degeneracy  of  his 
type  in  proportion  as  he  is  removed  from  the  place 
of  his  origin,  and  the  focus  of  his  religious  traditions. 
Renouncing  moral  liberty,  which  exists  only  in  good- 
ness, man  gives  to  nature  power  over  himself,  submits 
to  it,  and  thus  are  traced  and  distinguished,  a  race  of 
Eastern  Asia,  an  African  race,  an  Australian  race,  a 
Polynesian  race,  an  American  race.  We  must  con- 
fess, however,  it  is  not  granted  to  follow  out,  either  in 
nature  or  in  history,  the  steps  of  this  transformation; 
a  transformation  that  could  only  have  taken  place, 
at  the  time  when  the  human  race  in  their  infancy 
had  still  the  flexible  and  plastic  nature  of  the  child; 
and  we  must  repeat,  the  origin  of  the  human  races  is 
a  fact  beyond  our  observation  and  anterior  to  all  history, 
and,  like  all  other  origins,  is  screened  by  an  impenetra- 
ble veil. 

Since  man  is  made  to  acquire  the  full  possession  and 
mastery  of  his  faculties  by  toil,  and  by  the  exercise  of 
all  his  energies,  no  climate  could  so  well  minister  to  his 
progress  in  this  work  as  the  climate  of  the  temperate 
continents.    It  is  easy  to  understand  this. 

An  excessive  heat  enfeebles  man ;  it  invites  to  repose 
and  inaction.    In  the  tropical  regions  the  power  of  life 


ACTION  OF  CLIMATE  UPON  MAN. 


269 


in  nature  is  carried  to  its  highest  degree ;  thus  with  the 
tropical  man,  the  life  of  the  body  overmasters  that  of 
the  soul ;  the  physical  instincts  of  our  nature,  those  of 
the  higher  faculties;  passion,  sentiment,  imagination, 
predominate  over  intellect  and  reason ;  the  passive  facul- 
ties over  the  active  faculties.  A  nature  too  rich,  too 
prodigal  of  her  gifts,  does  not  compel  man  to  snatch 
from  her  his  daily  bread  by  his  daily  toil.  A  regular 
climate,  the  absence  of  a  dormant  season,  render  fore- 
thought of  little  use  to  him.  Nothing  invites  him  to 
that  struggle  of  intelligence  against  nature,  which 
raises  the  forces  of  man  to  so  high  a  pitch,  but  which 
would  seem  here  to  be  hopeless.  Thus  he  never 
dreams  of  resisting  this  all-powerful  physical  nature ; 
he  is  conquered  by  her ;  he  submits  to  the  yoke,  and 
becomes  again  the  animal  man,  in  proportion  as  he 
abandons  himself  to  these  influences,  forgetful  of  his 
high  moral  destination. 

In  the  temperate  climates  all  is  activity,  movement. 
The  alternations  of  heat  and  cold,  the  changes  of  the 
seasons,  a  fresher  and  more  bracing  air,  incite  man  to  a 
constant  struggle,  to  forethought,  to  the  vigorous  em- 
ployment of  all  his  faculties.  A  more  economical 
nature  yields  nothing,  except  to  the  sweat  of  his  b,row  ; 
every  gift  on  her  part  is  a  recompense  for  effort  on  his. 
Less  mighty,  less  gigantesque,  even  while  challenging 
man  to  the  conflict,  she  leaves  him  the  hope  of  victory  ; 
and  if  she  does  not  show  herself  prodigal,  she  grants 
to  his  active  and  intelligent  labor  more  than  his 
necessities  require;  she  allows  him  ease  and  leisure, 
which  give  him  scope  to  cultivate  all  the  lofty  faculties 
23* 


270  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

of  his  higher  nature.  Here,  physical  nature  is  not  a 
tyrant,  but  a  useful  helper;  the  active  faculties,  the 
understanding  and  the  reason,  rule  over  the  instincts  and 
the  passive  faculties ;  the  soul  over  the  body ;  man  over 
nature. 

In  the  frozen  regions  man  also  contends  with  nature, 
but  with  a  niggardly  and  severe  nature ;  it  is  a  des- 
perate struggle,  a  struggle  for  life  and  death.  With 
difficulty,  by  force  of  toil,  he  succeeds  in  providing  a 
miserable  support,  which  saves  him  from  dying  of  hun- 
ger and  hardship  during  the  tedious  winters  of  that 
climate.  No  higher  culture  is  possible  under  such 
unfavorable  conditions. 

The  man  of  the  tropical  regions  is  the  son  of  a 
wealthy  house.  In  the  midst  of  the  surrounding  abun- 
dance, labor  too  often  seems  to  him  useless  •  to  abandon 
himself  to  his  inclinations  is  a  more  easy  and  agreeable 
pastime.  A  slave  of  his  passions,  an  unfaithful  servant, 
he  leaves  his  faculties,  the  talent  God  has  endowed 
him  with,  uncultivated  and  unused.  The  work  of 
improvement  with  him  is  a  failure. 

The  man  of  the  polar  regions  is  the  beggar,  over- 
whelmed with  suffering,  who,  too  happy  if  he  but  gain 
his  daily  bread,  has  no  leisure  to  think  of  anything 
more  exalted. 

The  man  of  the  temperate  regions,  finally,  is  the 
man  born  in  ease,  in  the  golden  mean,  the  most  favored 
of  all  conditions.  Invited  to  labor  by  everything  around 
aim,  he  soon  finds,  in  the  exercise  of  all  his  faculties,  at 
once  progress  and  well-being. 

Thus,  if  the  tropical  continents  have  the  wealth  of 


ACTION  OF  CLIMATE  UPON  MAN. 


271 


nature,  the  temperate  continents  are  the  most  perfectly- 
organized  for  the  development  of  man.  They  are 
opposed  to  each  other,  as  the  body  and  the  soul,  as  the 
inferior  races  and  the  superior  races,  as  savage  man 
and  civilized  man,  as  nature  and  history.  This  con- 
trast, so  marked,  cannot  remain  an  open  one ;  it  must 
be  resolved.  The  history  of  the  development  of  human 
societies  will  give  us  the  solution,  or  at  least  will  permit 
us  to  obtain  a  glimpse  of  the  truth. 


LECTURE  XI 


The  continents  of  the  North  considered  as  the  theatre  of  history  — 
Asia-Europe;  contrast  of  the  North  and  South;  its  influence  in 
history;  conflict  of  the  barbarous  nations  of  the  North  with  the  civil- 
ized nations  of  the  South —  Contrast  of  the  East  and  West  — 
Eastern  Asia  a  continent  by  itself  and  complete;  its  nature;  the 
Mongolian  race  belongs  peculiarly  to  it ;  character  of  its  civilization 
—  Superiority  of  the  Hindoo  civilization  ;  reason  why  these  nations 
have  remained  stationary  —  Western  Asia  and  Europe ;  the  country 
of  the  truly  historical  races  —  Western  Asia ;  physical  description  ; 
its  historical  character ;  Europe  —  the  best  organized  for  the  devel- 
opment of  man  and  of  societies  ;  America — future  to  which  it  is  des- 
tined by  its  physical  nature. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

The  result  of  the  comparison  we  have  made  between 
the  northern  continents  and  the  southern  continents,  in 
their  most  general  characteristics,  has  convinced  us,  if 
I  do  not  deceive  myself,  that  what  distinguishes  the 
former  is,  not  the  wealth  of  nature  and  the  abundance 
of  physical  life,  but  the  aptitude  which  their  structure, 
their  situation,  and  their  climate,  give  them,  to  minister 
to  the  development  of  man,  and  to  become  thus  the  seat 
of  a  life  much  superior  to  that  of  nature.  The  three 
continents  of  the  North,  with  their  more  perfect  races, 
their  civilized  people,  have  appeared  as  the  historical 
continents,  which  form, a  marked  contrast  to  those  of 
<*he  South,  with  their  inferior  races  and  their  savage 
tribes. 


ASIA-EUROPE,   THEATRE  OF  HISTORY.  273 

Since  this  is  the  salient  and  distinguishing  feature, 
securing  to  them  decidedly  the  first  place,  we  shall 
this  evening  proceed  to  study  them  more  in  detail  as  the 
theatre  of  history. 

We  know  beforehand,  gentlemen,  that  the  condition 
of  an  active,  complete  development  is  the  multiplicity 
of  the  contrasts,  of  the  differences,  —  springs  of  action 
and  reaction,  of  mutual  exchanges  exciting  and  mani- 
festing life  under  a  thousand  diverse  forms.  To  this 
principle  corresponds,  in  the  organization  of  the  animal, 
the  greater  number  of  its  special  organs ;  in  the  conti- 
nents, the  variety  of  the  plastic  forms  of  the  soil,  the 
localization  of  the  strongly  characterized  physical  dis- 
tricts, the  nature  of  which  stamps  upon  the  people 
inhabiting  them  a  special  seal,  and  makes  them  so  many 
complicated  but  distinct  individuals. 

The  various  combinations  of  grouping,  of  situation, 
with  regard  to  each  other,  placing  them  in  a  permanent 
relation  of  friendship  or  hostility,  of  sympathy  or  of 
antipathy,  of  peace  or  of  war,  of  interchange  of  relig- 
ions, of  manners,  of  civilization,  complete  this  work, 
and  give  that  impulse,  that  progressive  movement,  which 
is  the  trait  whereby  the  historical  nations  are  recog- 
nized. 

We  may,  then,  expect  to  see  the  great  facts  of  the  life 
of  the  nations  connect  themselves  essentially  with  these 
differences  of  soil  and  climate,  with  these  contrasts,  that 
nature  herself  presents  in  the  interior  of  the  continents, 
and  wfcose  influence  on  the  social  development  of  man, 
although  variable  according  to  the  times,  is  no  less  evi- 
dent ill  all  the  periods  of  his  history. 


274  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

Let  us  commence  our  inquiry  with  the  true  theatre  of 
history  —  with  Asia-Europe. 

We  have  already  had  occasion  to  call  attention  to  the 
unity  of  plan  exhibited  in  this  great  triangular  mass, 
which  authorizes  us  to  consider  it  as  forming,  in  a  nat- 
ural point  of  view,  a  single  continent,  whose  subdivisions 
bear  the  imprint  of  only  secondary  differences.  We 
have  also  indicated,  as  the  most  remarkable  trait  of  its 
structure,  that  great  dorsal  ridge,  composed  of  systems 
of  the  loftiest  mountains,  traversing  it  from  one  end  to 
the  other  in  the  direction  of  the  length,  which  may  even 
be  regarded  as  the  axis  of  the  continent.  It  is,  in  fact, 
on  the  two  sides  of  this  long  line  of  more  than  5,000 
miles,  on  the  north  and  south  of  the  Himalaya,  of  the 
Caucasus,  ,of  the  Balkan,  the  Alps,  and  the  Pyrenees, 
that  the  high  lands  of  the  interior  of  the  continent 
extend.  It  splits  Asia-Europe  into  two  portions,  unequal 
in  size,  and  differing  from  each  other  in  their  configura- 
tion and'  their  climate.  On  the  south,  the  areas  are  less 
vast ;  the  lands  are  more  indented,  more  detached  —  on 
the  whole,  perhaps,  more  elevated;  it  is  the  maritime 
zone  of  peninsulas.  On  the  north,  the  great  plains  pre- 
vail; the  peninsulas  are  rare,  or  of  slight  importance, 
the  ground  less  varied. 

But  what  chiefly  distinguishes  one  of  the  two  parts 
from  the  other,  what  gives  to  each  a  peculiar  nature,  is 
the  climate.  Those  lofty  barriers  we  have  just  named 
almost  everywhere  separate  the  climates,  as  well  as  the 
areas.  The  gradual  elevation  of  the  terraces  towards 
the  south,  up  to  this  ridge  of  the  continent,  by  prolong- 
ing in  the  southern  direction  the  frosts  of  the  north, 


CONTRAST  OF  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


275 


augments  still  further,  in  Eastern  Asia  and  in  Europe, 
the  difference  of  temperature  between  their  sides,  and 
renders  it  more  sensible.  Thus,  almost  everywhere,  the 
transition  is  abrupt,  the  two  natures  wide  apart.  These 
high  ridges  arrest  at  once  the  icy  winds  of  the  poles, 
and  the  softened  breezes  of  the  south,  and  separate  their 
domains.  The  Italian  of  our  days,  like  the  Roman  of 
former  times,  boasts  of  his  blue  sky  and  his  mild  climate, 
and  speaks  with  an  ill-concealed  contempt  of  the  frosts 
and  the  ice  of  the  countries  beyond  the  Alps. 

To  the  father  of  the  Grecian  poets,  to  Homer,  who 
knows  only  the  Ionian  sky,  the  countries  beyond  the 
Hsemus  are  the  regions  of  darkness,  where  rugged 
Boreas  reigns  supreme.  At  the  northern  foot  of  the 
Caucasus,  the  dry  steppes  of  the  Manytsch  are  swept 
by  the  frozen  winds  of  the  north ;  on  the  south,  the 
warm  and  fertile  plains  of  Georgia  and  of  Imereth,  feel 
no  longer  their  assaults.  In  Eastern  Asia,  finally,  the 
contrast  is  pushed  to  an  extreme.  The  traveller,  cross- 
ing the  lofty  chain  of  the  Himalaya,  passes  suddenly 
from  the  polar  climate  of  the  high  table  lands  of  Tubet, 
to  the  tropical  heats  and  the  rich  nature  of  the  plains  of 
the  Indus  and  the  Ganges.  Yet,  as  we  have  said,  this 
great  wall,  which  separates  the  North  from  the  South, 
is  rent  at  several  points.  Between  the  Hindo-Khu  and 
the  Caucasus,  the  depressed  edge  of  the  table  land  of 
Khorasan,  between  the  Caucasus  and  the  Balkan,  the 
plains  of  the  Black  Sea  and  of  the  Danube,  open  wide 
their  gates  to  the  winds  and  to  the  nations  of  the  shores 
of  the  Caspian  and  the  Volga.  Between  the  Pyrenees 
and  the  Alps,  the  climates  and  the  peoples  of  the  South 
penetrate  into  the  North. 


276 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Thus  two  opposite  regions  are  confronted,  one  on  the 
North,  in  the  cool  temperate  zone,  with  its  vast  steppes 
and  desert  table-lands,  its  rigorous  climates,  its  intense 
colds,  its  dry  and  starveling  nature ;  the  other  on  the 
South,  in  the  warm  temperate  zone,  with  its  beautiful 
peninsulas,  its  fertile  plains,  its  blue  heavens  and  its  soft 
climate,  its  delicate  fruits,  its  trees  always  green,  its 
lovely  and  smiling  nature. 

The  contrast  of  these  two  natures  cannot  fail  to  have 
a  great  influence  on  the  peoples  of  the  two  regions.  It 
is  repeated,  from  the  history  of  the  very  earliest  ages,  in 
the  most  remarkable  manner.  In  the  North  the  arid 
table  lands,  the  steppes,  and  the  forests,  condemn  man 
to  the  life  of  shepherds  and  hunters;  the  peoples  are 
nomadic  and  barbarous.  In  the  South,  the  fruitful 
plains  and  a  more  facile  nature  invite  the  peoples  to 
agriculture ;  they  form  fixed  establishments  and  become 
civilized.  Thus  in  the  very  interior  of  the  historical  con- 
tinent we  find  a  civilized  and  a  barbarous  world,  placed 
side  by  side. 

Two  worlds  so  different  cannot  remain  in  contact 
without  reacting  upon  each  other.  The  conflict  begins, 
one  might  say,  with  history  itself,  and  continues  through- 
out its  entire  duration ;  there  is  scarcely  one  of  the  great 
evolutions,  particularly  in  Asia,  not  connected  with  this 
incessant  action  and  reaction  of  the  North  upon  the 
South,  and  of  the  South  upon  the  North,  of  the  bar- 
barian world  upon  the  civilized  world.  At  all  periods 
we  see  torrents  of  barbarous  nations  of  the  North  issuing 
from  their  borders  and  flooding  the  regions  of  civilization 
with  their  destroying  waves.    Like  the  boisterous  and 


CONTRAST  OF  NORTH  AND  SOUTH.  277 

icy  winds  of  the  regions  they  inhabit  they  come  sud- 
denly as  the  tempest,  and  overturn  everything  in  their 
way ;  nothing  resists  their  rage.  But  as  after  the  storm 
nature  assumes  a  new  strength,  so  the  civilized  nations, 
enervated  by  too  long  prosperity,  are  restored  to  life  and 
youth  by  the  mixture  of  these  rough  but  vigorous  chil- 
dren of  the  North.  Such  is  the  spectacle  presented  by 
the  history  of  the  great  monarchies  of  Asia  and  of  their 
dynasties ;  that  of  Europe  is  scarcely  less  fertile  in  strug- 
gles of  this  kind.  Some  examples,  which  I  proceed  to 
recall  to  your  memory,  will  be  enough  to  convince  you 
of  the  powerful  influence  of  this  contrast. 

As  far  as  the  memorials  of  history  ascend,  it  exhibits, 
on  the  table  land  of  Iran  and  in  the  neighboring  plains 
of  Bactriana,  one  of  the  earliest  civilized  nations,  the 
ancient  people  of  Zend.  The  Zendavesta,  the  sacred 
book  of  their  legislator,  displays  everywhere  deep  traces 
of  the  conflict  of  Iran,  of  the  southern  region,  of  the  light 
of  civilization  —  the  Good — with  the  Turan,  the  coun- 
tries of  the  North,  the  darkness,  the  barbarous  peoples  — 
the  Evil.  Who  can  say  that  even  the  idea  of  this  dual- 
ism —  of  Good  and  Evil  —  which  is  the  very  foundation 
of  the  religious  philosophy  of  Zoroaster,  is  not,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  the  result  of  the  hostile  relations  between  two 
countries  so  completely  different  ?  Six  centuries  before 
Christ,  the  barbarous  Scythians  come  down  from  the 
North,  sweep  like  a  whirlwind  through  the  same  gate  of 
the  Khorasan  upon  the  plateau  of  Iran,  overrun  the 
flourishing  kingdom  of  Media,  and  spread  themselves  as 
far  as  Egypt.  A  whole  generation  was  necessary  to  re- 
store to  Cyaxares  his  crown,  and  to  efface  the  traces  of 
24 


278  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

this  rude  attack.  In  the  eleventh  century  of  our  era,,  the 
Seldjouks  Turks,  descend  from  the  heights  of  Bolor  and 
Turkestan,  invade  first  Eastern  Persia,  overturn  the 
power  of  the  Gaznevide  Sultans,  put  an  end  to  that  of 
the  Caliphs,  and  lord  it  over  Western  Asia.  But  noth- 
ing equals  the  tremendous  shock  caused  through  the 
whole  of  Asia  by  the  invasion  of  the  Mongolians.  Issu- 
ing from  their  steppes  and  their  deserts,  under  the  con- 
duct of  the  daring  Gengis-Khan,  the  hero  of  his  nation, 
their  ferocious  hordes  extend  like  a  devastating  torrent 
from  one  end  of  Asia  to  another.  Nothing  withstands 
their  onset;  even  Europe  itself  is  threatened  by  these 
barbarians ;  all  Russia  is  subjected,  and  scarcely  can  the 
assembled  warriors  of  Germany  drive  them  back  from 
their  frontiers,  and  save  the  nascent  civilization  of  the 
West.  China  herself  beholds  a  succession  of  conquerors 
establish  in  the  North  a  brilliant  empire,  and  for  the  first 
time  the  two  Asias  are  subject  to  one  and  the  same 
dominant  people.  India  alone  had  been  spared ;  she 
yields  before  a  fresh  invasion,  and  Sultan  Babur  —  who 
already  is  no  more  a  barbarian  —  founds,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  mighty  Mongolian 
Empire,  which,  in  spite  of  its  vicissitudes,  has  existed 
down  to  our  days,  and  has  yielded  only  to  the  power  of 
the  nations  of  civilized  Europe.  The  history  of  China, 
lastly,  is  crowded  with  the  struggles  of  the  civilized  peo- 
ple of  the  plain  with  the  roving  tribes  of  the  neighbor- 
ing table  lands,  and  the  last  of  these  invasions,  so 
frequent,  —  that  of  the  Manchou  Tartars,  —  has  given 
to  China  its  present  rulers. 

In  Europe,  the  war  of  the  North  against  the  South, 


CONTRAST  OF  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


279 


though  seemingly  not  so  long  continued,  is  not  less 
serious.  Six  centuries  before  our  era,  bands  of  Celts, 
enticed  by  the  attractions  of  the  fertile  countries  of  the 
South,  set  forth  from  Gaul,  under  the  lead  of  Bellovese 
and  Sigovese,  cross  the  Alps,  and  proceed  to  establish 
themselves  in  the  smiling  plains  of  the  Po.  Other  bands 
follow  them  thither,  and  found  a  new  Gaul  beyond  the 
Alps.  These  impetuous  children  of  the  North  soon  press 
upon  Etruria;  and  Rome,  having  drawn  upon  herself 
their  anger,  suffers  the  penalty  of  her  rashness.  About 
390  B.  C,  the  city  was  burnt,  and  the  future  mistress  of 
the  world  well  nigh  perished  in  her  cradle,  by  the  strong 
hand  of  the  very  men  of  the  North  whom  she  was  des- 
tined afterwards  to  subject  to  her  laws.  A  century 
later,  these  same  Gauls,  finding  Rome  victorious  and 
Italy  shut  against  them,  rush  upon  enervated  Greece, 
give  her  up  to  pillage,  and,  profaning  the  sacred  temple 
at  Delphi,  announce  the  fall  of  Hellas,  and  the  last  days 
of  her  glory  and  her  liberty.  Another  troop  of  these 
bold  adventurers  cut  their  way  into  Asia  Minor ;  they 
maintain  themselves  there,  objects  of  terror  in  the  land 
that  bears  their  name,  to  the  very  moment  when  the 
power  of  Rome  forced  all  the  nations  to  bow  beneath 
her  iron  yoke. 

A  century  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour,  the  men  of 
the  North  are  again  in  motion.  The  Cimbri  and  the 
Teutons  appear  at  the  gates  of  Italy,  and  spread  terror 
even  to  Rome  herself.  Forty  years  have  scarce  rolled 
away  when  Rome,  in  her  turn,  assails  the  Northern 
World.  Caesar  marches  to  conquer  the  Gauls,  formerly 
so  terrible,  and  in  the  course  of  the  ages,  they  are  won 


280 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY". 


to  civilization.  Thus,  by  the  third  gate  which  opens 
the  wall  of  separation,  the  Southern  World  penetrates 
into  that  of  the  North. 

But  a  still  more  earnest  struggle  then  commences. 
The  Germans  have  preserved  their  native  energy,  and 
are  still  free.  Rome  is  declining,  and,  little  by  little, 
the  sources  of  life  in  that  immense  body  are  drying  up. 
The  weaker  it  grows,  the  more  the  men  of  the  North 
press  upon  the  mighty  colossus,  whose  head  is  still  of 
iron,  though  its  feet  are  of  clay.  It  falls,  for  its  own 
happiness  and  that  of  humanity  ;  a  new  sap  —  the  fresh 
vitality  of  the  Northmen  —  is  to  circulate  through  it ; 
and  soon  shall  it  be  born  again,  full  of  strength  and  life. 

You  see,  gentlemen,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of 
history,  the  contrast  of  these  two  natures  exercises  its 
mighty  influence.  The  struggle  between  the  peoples  of 
the  two  worlds  is  constant.  In  Asia  it  may  be  again 
renewed,  for  nature  there  is  unconquerable,  and  the  con- 
trast still  exists.  In  Europe,  the  coarse  struggle  of  brute 
strength  of  the  early  days  has  ended,  since,  culture  hav- 
ing passed  into  the  North,  conquerors  and  conquered, 
civilized  men  and  barbarians,  have  melted  down  into 
one  and  the  same  people,  to  rise  to  a  civilization  far 
superior  to  the  preceding.  But  we  behold  it  reappear, 
less  material  but  not  less  evident,  between  the  free  and 
intelligent  thinker,  and  the  Protestant  of  the  North,  and 
the  artistic,  impassioned,  superstitious,  Catholic  man  of 
the  South. 

Let  us  pass  now  to  a  second  feature  of  the  structure 
of  the  continent  Asia-Europe,  which  has  almost  as 
much  weight  as  that  we  have  just  discussed. 


CONTRAST  OF  NORTH  AND  SOUTH.  281 

Long  chains,  extending  from  the  north  to  the  south, 
in  the  direction  of  the  meridians,  the  Bolor  and  Mt.  Soli- 
man,  cut  at  right  angles  the  great  east-west  axis.  The 
Bolor  forms  the  western  margin  of  the  high  central  pla- 
teau ;  the  Soliman,  the  eastern  margin  of  the  table  land 
of  Iran  ;  —  the  one  on  the  north,  the  other  on  the  south ; 
—  so  that  these  two  solid  masses  touch  each  other  at 
their  opposite  angles,  south-west  and  north-east.  The 
remarkable  point  where  these  high  ranges  intersect,  and 
the  table  land  and  the  plains,  lying  outspread  at  their 
feet,  touch  each  other,  is  the  Hindo-Khu.  These  feat- 
ures of  relief  sever  the  continent  into  two  parts,  of 
almost  equal  extent,  but  of  very  unequal  importance ; 
Eastern  Asia  on  the  one  side,  and  Western  Asia  and 
Europe  on  the  other  —  the  Mongolian  races,  and  the 
White  races. 

This  separation  is  so  deeply  marked  in  nature  and  in 
the  nations,  that  even  the  ancients,  with  the  practical 
sense  belonging  to  them,  made  a  division  of  Asia  intra 
Imaum,  and  Asia  extra  Imaum;  that  is,  Asia  this  side 
and  Asia  beyond  the  Bolor  and  the  Hindo-Khu;  as  they 
also  divided  the  North  and  the  South  into  Scythia  — 
Nomadic  Asia  —  and  Asia  proper,  or  civilized  Asia. 

Eastern  Asia  forms,  in  fact,  a  continent  by  itself 
alone.  A  vast  pile  of  highlands,  a  plateau  in  the  form 
of  a  trapezium,  occupies  the  entire  centre,  and  forms  the 
principal  mass.  It  seems  to  invade  everything;  ;t  is  the 
prominent  feature,  and  gives  a  distinctive  physiognomy 
to  the  continent.  It  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  lofty 
ranges  capped  with  snow,  which  seem,  like  towering 
ramparts,  to  guard  it  from  attack,  and  to  isolate  it  on 
24* 


282  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

every  side.  On  the  south  the  Himalaya,  on  the  west 
the  Bolor,  on  the  north  the  Altai,  on  the  east  the  Khin- 
gan,  and  the  Yun-Ling,  form  an  almost  unbroken 
enclosure,  whose  detached  summits  belong  to  the  lof- 
tiest mountains  of  the  earth.  A  small  number  of 
natural  entrances  lead  to  the  interior,  or  give  an  exit 
from  it.  The  only  gate  that  offers  some  facility  is  Zun- 
gary,  between  the  Thian-Shan  and  the  Altai;  every- 
where else,  high  and  frozen  passes. 

The  interior  of  this  vast  enclosure  is  cut  by  numerous 
chains,  the  highest  of  which — those  of  theKuenlun  on 
the  south,  and  of  the  Thian-Shan  on  the  north — are 
parallel  to  the  Himalaya  and  the  Altai,  and  divide  the 
ground  into  several  basins,  or  high  bottoms.  In  all  this 
extent,  no  fertile  and  easily  cultivated  plain;  every- 
where stretch  the  steppes,  a  dry  and  cold  desert,  or 
seas  of  drifting  sand.  Nevertheless,  a  considerable 
depression  in  Eastern  Turkestan,  where  the  Tarim 
flows,  and  whose  bottom  is  marked  by  Lake  Lop, 
allows  the  cultivation  of  the  vine  and  the  cotton  tree  at 
the  foot  of  the  Thian-Shan ;  but  this  is  an  exception. 
Apart  from  some  privileged  localities,  nature  here  per- 
mits no  regular  tillage,  and  dooms  the  tribes  of  these 
regions  to  the  life  of  shepherds  and  herdsmen,  —  the 
nomadic  life. 

Around  this  central  mass,  towards  the  four  winds  of 
heaven,  extend  at  its  feet  broad  and  low  plains,  watered 
by  the  rivers  pouring  down  from  its  heights,  which 
rank  among  the  largest  in  the  world.  On  the  north  is 
the  most  extensive  but  the  least  important,  the  frozen 
«tnd  barren  plain  of  Siberia,  with  the  streams  of  the 


EASTERN  ASIA. 


283 


Obi,  the  Jenisey,  the  Lenaf  on  the  east  the  low 
country  of  China,  where  meet  and  unite  the  two  giant 
rivers  of  the  Old  World — those  two  twin  rivers,  which, 
born  in  the  same  cradle,  flow  on  to  die  in  the  same 
ocean.  On  the  south,  the  plain  of  Hindoostan,  moist- 
ened by  the  fresh  and  abundant  waters  of  the  Himalaya, 
and  the  sacred  streams  of  the  Indus  and  the  Ganges ; 
on  the  west,  finally,  the  plain  of  Turan,  with  the  two 
rivers  of  Gihon  and  Sihon,  and  its  salt  seas,  to  which 
Western  Asia  already  lays  claim.  In  these  plains, 
with  fruitful  alluvial  soil,  and  on  the  banks  of  these 
blessed  rivers,  were  developed  the  earliest,  almost  the 
only,  civilized  nations  belonging  to  this  continent.  But 
the  warm  and  maritime  region  of  the  East  and  the 
South,  connected  with  the  rich  peninsulas  of  India,  is 
by  far  the  most  favored  of  all.  China  and  India,  there- 
fore, have  given  birth  to  the  two  great  cultivated  nations 
of  Eastern  Asia. 

Nevertheless,  as  the  great  central  ridge  swerves 
obliquely  towards  the  south,  this  warm  and  fortunate 
region  forms  only  a  narrow  strip,  not  to  be  compared 
in  extent  with  the  cold,  and  sterile,  and  barbarous 
world  of  the  North.  This  predominates,  and  decides  its 
character. 

Such  are  the  distinctive  features  of  Eastern  Asia. 
What  strikes  us,  in  this  world  of  the  remotest  East,  is 
its  gigantic  proportions.  The  loftiest  mountains  of  the 
earth,  the  most  massive  table  lands,  the  most  extensive 
plains,  peninsulas  which  are  small  continents,  rivers 
that  have  no  rivals  in  the  Old  World,  give  it  a  char- 
acter of  grandeur  and  majesty  not  elseAvhere  to  be  found. 


284  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

But,  it  is  easily  understood,  nowhere  are  the  differences 
also  so  strongly  drawn,  so  huge,  so  invincible.  No- 
where is  the  contrast  between  the  high  lands  and  the 
low  lands,  between  the  heat  and  the  cold,  between  the 
moisture  and  the  dryness,  abundance  and  sterility, 
presented  on  so  vast  a  scale.  See,  by  the  side  of  the 
low,  burning,  and  productive  plains  of  Hindoostan,  ten 
or  fifteen  thousand  feet  higher  up,  the  cold  and  arid 
highland  plain  of  Tubet  and  Tangout ;  by  the  side  of 
China  and  its  populous  cities,  the  elevated  deserts  and 
the  tents  of  the  nomads  of  Mongolia.  The  differences 
are  everywhere  pushed  to  their  utmost  limit. 

Furthermore — and  this  characteristic  completes  the 
picture — the  communications  from  one  region  to  another 
are  always  difficult.  One  thoroughfare  alone,  the  valley 
of  the  Peschawer,  leads  from  Persia  to  India,  and  has 
been  the  highway  of  all  the  conquerors,  from  Alexandei 
to  Babur  and  to  the  English.  No  practicable  road  for 
armies  or  for  regular  commerce  unites  India  and  China ; 
the  peninsulas  communicate  only  by  sea.  The  passes 
of  the  Himalaya  are  at  an  elevation  of  from  ten  to 
eighteen  thousand  feet ;  those  of  the  Bolor  are  frozen  in 
the  middle  of  summer.  At  all  times,  the  passage  of  the 
plateau  is  a  difficult  and  tedious  undertaking,  and  at 
certain  points  almost  impossible. 

Eastern  Asia  is,  then,  preeminently,  the  country 
of  contrasts,  of  isolated  and  strongly  characterized 
regions ;  for  each  forms  a  world  apart,  and  is  sufficient 
unto  itself. 

What  must  be  the  effect  of  this  strong  and  massive 


EASTERN  ASIA. 


285 


nature  upon  the  nations  who  live  under  its  influence, 
history  will  inform  us. 

As  Eastern  Asia  has  a  physical  nature  belonging 
especially  to  itself,  so  it  has  a  particular  race  of  men — 
the  Mongolian  race.  We  have  already  pointed  out  the 
external  characteristics  of  the  Mongolian  family.  With 
it,  the  melancholic  temperament  seems  to  prevail;  the 
intellect,  moderate  in  range,  exercises  itself  upon  the 
details,  but  never  rises  to  the  general  ideas  or  high 
speculations  of  science  and  philosophy.  Ingenious, 
inventive,  full  of  sagacity  for  the  useful  arts  and  the 
conveniences  of  life,  the  Mongolian,  nevertheless,  is 
incompetent  to  generalize  their  application.  Wholly 
turned  to  the  things  of  earth,  the  world  of  ideas,  the 
spiritual  world,  seems  closed  against  him.  His  entire 
philosophy  and  religion  are  reduced  to  a  code  of  social 
morals  limited  to  the  expression  of  those  principles  of 
human  conscience,  without  the  observance  of  which 
society  is  impossible. 

The  principal  seat  of  the  Mongolian  race  is  the 
central  table  land  of  Asia.  The  roaming  life  and  the 
patriarchal  form  of  their  societies  are  the  necessary 
consequence  of  the  sterile  and  arid  nature  of  the  regions 
they  inhabit.  In  this  social  state,  the  relations  and  the 
ties  which  unite  the  individuals  of  the  same  nation  are 
imposed  by  kindred,  by  birth ;  that  is,  by  nature.  As- 
sociation is  compulsory,  not  of  free  consent,  as  in  more 
improved  societies.  Thus,  the  greater  part  of  Eastern 
Asia  seems  doomed  to  remain  in  this  inferior  state  of 
culture;  for  the  whole  North — Siberia  and  its  vast 


286  COMPARATIVE  PHYISCAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

areas — is  scarcely  more  suited  to  favor  the  unfolding  of 
a  superior  nature. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  warm  and  maritime  zone,  in  the 
fertile  and  happy  plains  of  China  and  India,  along 
those  rivers  which  support  life  and  abundance  on  their 
banks,  nations,  invited  by  so  many  advantages,  estab- 
lish themselves  and  fix  their  dwelling-places.  Their 
number  soon  augments ;  they  demand  their  support 
from  the  soil,  which  an  easy  tillage  yields  them  in 
abundance.  They  become  husbandmen  ;  cultivated  so- 
cieties are  formed ;  civilization  rises  to  a  height  unknown 
to  the  tribes  of  the  table  land. 

The  Chinese,  of  Mongolian  race,  preserves,  even  in 
his  civilization,  the  character  as  well  as  the  social  prin- 
ciple stamped  upon  his  race  by  nature — the  patriarchal 
form.  The  whole  nation  is  a  large  family ;  the  Em- 
peror is  the  father  of  the  family,  whose  absolute,  des- 
potic, but  benevolent  power  governs  all  things  by  his 
will  alone.  China,  then,  in  the  order  of  civilized 
nations,  is  the  purest  representative  of  Eastern  Asia, 
and  shows  to  what  point  the  patriarchal  principle  of 
the  earliest  communities  is  compatible  with  a  higher 
cultivation. 

In  India,  the  nations  of  the  white  race,  sprung  from 
the  West,  have  founded  a  civilization  wholly  different, 
the  character  of  which  is  explained  at  once  by  the 
primitive  qualities  of  the  race  and  the  climate. 

Endowed  with  a  higher  intelligence,  with  a  power  of 
generalization,  with  a  profound  religious  sentiment,  the 
Hindoo  is  the  opposite  of  the  Chinese ;  for  him  the 
invisible  world,  unknown  to  the  Chinese,  alone  seems  to 


EASTERN  CIVILIZATION. 


287 


exist.  But  the  influence  of  the  climate  of  the  tropics 
gives  to  the  intuitive  faculties  an  exaggerated. preponder- 
ance over  the  active  faculties.  The  real,  positive  world 
disappears  from  his  eyes.  Thus,  in  his  literature,  so 
rich  in  works  of  high  philosophy,  of  poetry  and  religion, 
we  seek  in  vain  for  the  annals  of  his  history,  cr  any 
treatise  on  science,  any  of  those  collections  of  observa- 
tions so  numerous  among  the  Chinese.  In  spite  of  these 
defects  the  Hindoo  civilization,  compared  to  that  of 
China,  bears  a  character  of  superiority,  which  betrays 
its  noble  origin.  It  is  the  civilization  of  the  western 
races  transported  and  placed  under  the  influence  of  the 
East. 

But  there  is  one  characteristic  common  to  all  these 
civilizations  of  the  uttermost  East,  deserving  our  par- 
ticular attention.  Born  in  the  earliest  ages  of  the  world, 
(for  without  admitting — far  from  it — the  fabulous  an- 
tiquity their  own  traditions  assign  them,  we  may  regard 
them  as  belonging  to  the  most  ancient  in  the  world,) 
they  seem  to  grow  rapidly  at  first,  and  at  the  remotest 
period  recorded  by  history  they  have  already  acquired 
the  degree  of  development  and  all  the  leading  features 
that  distinguish  them  at  the  present  day.  Nearly 
fifteen  hundred  years  before  Christ — others  say  two 
thousand — India  already  possessed  the  Vedas  —  those 
religious  and  philosophical  works,  which  already  sup- 
pose a  high  culture  and  its  accompanying  social  state. 
Alexander  finds  it  flourishing  and  brilliant  still,  but 
little  changed ;  the  description  the  historians  of  his  con- 
quests have  left,  is  true  of  modern  India  when  invaded 
by  the  English.    As  much  may  be  said  of  China,  whose 


288  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

existing  condition  seems  to  present  the  same  essential 
features  we  know  it  to  have  possessed  from  a  time  long 
before  our  era.  Thus,  these  nations  offer  the  astonishing 
spectacle  of  civilized  communities  remaining  perfectly- 
stationary.  Three  thousand  years  of  existence  have 
made  no  essential  change  in  their  condition,  have  taught 
them  nothing,  have  brought  about  no  real  progress,  have 
developed  none  of  those  great  ideas,  which  effect  a  com- 
plete transformation  in  the  life  of  nations.  They  are,  as 
it  were,  stereotyped. 

What,  then,  has  been  wanting  to  these  peoples,  that 
they  have  not  been  favored  with  a  further  progress? 
Why  do  they  all  stop  short  in  the  career  they  have 
entered  upon  in  so  brilliant  a  manner  —  even  the  Hin- 
doos of  noble  race  —  of  the  race  eminently  progressive  ? 

What  has  been  wanting  to  the  communities  of  East- 
ern Asia,  gentlemen,  is  the  possibility  of  actions  and 
reactions  upon  each  other,  more  intimate,  more  perma- 
nent ;  it  is  the  possibility  of  a  common  life. 

These  nations  are  too  isolated  by  nature,  too  opposite 
in  race  and  character,  to  be  able  to  blend  in  one  com- 
mon civilization.  The  Hindoos  are  separated  from 
China  by  the  snowy  terraces  of  the  Himalaya,  and  of 
the  Yun-Nan;  from  Western  Asia,  by  the  high  table 
lands  of  Caboul.  These  forms  of  relief  are  too  huge ; 
the  contrasts  resulting  from  them  are  too  violent ;  they 
are  unconquerable  by  man.  Meantime,  each  of  these 
rich  districts  may  suffice,  of  itself  alone,  for  a  beautiful 
career  of  improvement,  but  each  of  these  peoples  fur- 
nishes but  a  single  type.  In  their  isolation,  their  excel- 
lences, as  well  as  their  defects,  run  into  excess ;  nothing 


WESTERN  ASIA  AND  EUROPE. 


289 


tempers  or  corrects  them ;  their  character  is  more  indi- 
vidual. Such  is  the  strength  of  these  civilizations,  that 
clouds  of  conquerors  are  successively  absorbed,  without 
modifying  them,  almost  without  leaving  a  trace  behind. 

But  individuality  is  here  carried  to  egoism.  Of  this 
very  isolation  which  causes  their  inferiority,  and  kills 
all  progress,  they  make  a  conservative  principle.  The 
Hindoo  cannot  leave  his  country  except  by  sea;  the 
Vedas  forbid  it  under  pain  of  pollution.  Japan  and 
China  obstinately  close  their  borders  against  all  the 
nations  of  Europe,  and  it  is  only  at  the  cannon's  mouth 
that  the  English  have  opened  the  gates  so  long  shut, 
and  forced  them  to  the  life  of  interchange  which  will 
restore  them  to  progress  and  vitality.  Thus,  while 
everything  around  them  is  advancing,  India  and  China 
have  remained  stationary.  For  it  is  not  given  to  one 
people  alone,  any  more  than  to  one  individual  alone,  to 
run  through  the  whole  compass  of  the  scale  of  human 
progress,  by  themselves  and  without  the  aid  of  their 
brethren.  Eastern  Asia  is,  then,  the  continent  of  ex- 
treme contrasts  and  of  isolated  regions ;  of  races  essen- 
tially Mongolian ;  of  stationary  civilizations ;  of  the 
semi-historical  nations.  It  is  not  there  that  the  work 
of  the  development  of  humanity  can  be  achieved. 

The  second  half  of  the  Old  World,  in  the  temperate 
region,  Western  Asia  and  Europe,  forms  another  whole, 
wherein  we  are  able  to  point  out  several  common  char- 
acteristics. Besides  the  division  into  a  North  and  a 
South,  on  the  two  sides  of  the  continental  axis,  the  most 
salient  feature  is  the  long  table  land  of  Iran,  stretching 
uninterruptedly  from  India  to  the  extremity  of  Asia 
25 


290  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

Minor,  and  even  prolonging  itself,  without  losing  its 
nature,  across  the  peninsulas  of  the  Mediterranean,  as 
far  as  Spain. 

From  one  end  of  these  regions  to  the  other,  nature 
wears  a  character  of  uniformity.  Everywhere  the  same 
cretaceous  and  jurassic  limestone  deposits  form  the 
greater  part  of  the  ground ;  everywhere  volcanoes  rise 
from  the  earth,  and  shake  it  with  their  convulsions. 
The  climate,  also,  is  alike  ;  for  in  Asia  a  more  southern 
latitude  is  counterbalanced  by  a  greater  elevation  of  the 
plateaus.  The  flora  is  analogous ;  the  cultivated  plants, 
the  fruits,  the  domestic  animals,  are  the  same,  with  the 
exception  of  the  camel  of  the  desert,  useless  to  Europe. 
Finally,  the  white  Caucasian  race,  the  most  noble,  the 
most  intellectual  of  the  human  species,  and  all  the  nations 
of  progressive  civilization,  dwell  there.  If  we  add  Egypt 
and  the  vicinage  of  the  Atlas,  which  belong  to  the  Medi- 
terranean, it  is  the  true  theatre  of  history,  in  the  proper 
meaning  of  that  word. 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  this  real  community  of  char- 
acteristics, it  is  easy  to  detect,  in  Western  Asia  and 
Europe,  certain  differences  not  less  important,  that  force 
us  to  consider  them  still  as  two  distinct  continents. 

In  Europe,  in  the  southern  zone,  the  plateau  loses  its 
continuity,  and  splits  into  peninsulas.  In  the  northern 
zone,  the  arid  steppes  and  the  deserts  are  changed 
beyond  the  Oural  into  a  fertile  soil,  more  elevated,  well 
watered,  covered  with  forests,  and  susceptible  of  cultiva- 
tion. The  areas  become  gradually  smaller,  and  the 
whole  continent  is  only  a  great  peninsula,  of  which  the 
headland  turning  towards  the  west  juts  out  into  the 


WESTERN  ASIA. 


291 


ocean.  The  north-east  direction  of  the  continental  axis 
crowding  the  lands  further  north,  and  the  influence  of 
the  ocean,  give  it  a  wetter  and  more  temperate  climate. 
Let  us  further  examine  these  two  portions  of  Asia- 
Europe,  considered  in  the  historical  point  of  view. 

Western  Asia  is  placed  in  the  middle  portion  of  the 
continent  Asia-Europe,  between  the  two  extremes.  Like 
Eastern  Asia,  it  has  for  its  centre  and  prominent  feat- 
ure, a  table  land  encircled  with  mountains,  the  plateau 
of  Iran  and  of  Asia  Minor ;  but  it  is  narrower,  more 
elongated.  The  mountain  chains  are  less  elevated,  less 
continuous.  The  mountains  of  Kurdistan  and  of  the 
Taurus,  which  edge  it  on  the  south,  attain  a  height  of 
ten  or  twelve  thousand  feet  only  at  a  few  points.  The 
higher  mountains,  as  the  Ararat,  are  isolated,  or  form 
a  chain,  detached  from  the  mass,  like  the  Caucasus. 
We  have  already  said  that  the  north-east  side  is  low 
and  entirely  open.  The  deep  valley  of  Peschawer  cuts 
its  eastern  side,  and  opens  a  passage  towards  India. 
Not  only  is  this  plateau  more  accessible  than  that  of 
Eastern  Asia,  by  reason  of  these  forms  of  relief,  but, 
very  different  from  the  latter,  which  is  far  from  any 
ocean,  it  is  bathed  at  its  very  feet,  on  the  four  corners, 
by  inland  seas,  that  are  so  many  new  outlets.  On  the 
south,  the  Arabian  Sea,  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  the  Medi- 
terranean; on  the  north,  the  Caspian  and  the  Black 
Sea. 

Low  and  fertile  plains,  watered  by  twin  streams, 
stretch  at  the  foot  of  the  table  land  of  Iran.  On  the 
south,  the  plain  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  the 
unequalled  fertility  whereof  ceases  with  the  rich  allu- 


292  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

vial  lands  of  those  rivers;  on  the  north,  the  no  less 
happy  plains  of  Bactriana,  watered  by  the  Gihon  and 
the  Sihon.  Beyond  these  lifegiving  rivers,  the  steppes 
of  the  deserts  establish  their  empire. 

The  climate  of  Western  Asia  no  longer  offers  those 
extreme  contrasts  which  strike  us  in  Eastern  Asia.  The 
plateau  is  on  the  south  of  the  central  ridge,  and  not  on 
the  north,  and  enjoys  a  favored  climate.  It  is  less  dry, 
more  fertile ;  the  desert  there  is  less  continuous ;  these 
southern  plains  are  not  under  the  tropics ;  the  difference 
between  the  plain  and  the  table  land  is  softened. 

The  true  Western  Asia,  the  Asia  of  history,  is  reduced 
thus  to  a  plateau  flanked  by  two  plains.  Add  the  Soris- 
tan,  which  connects  it  with  Egypt  and  this  last-men- 
tioned country,  and  you  will  have  all  the  great  coun- 
tries of  civilization  at  the  centre  of  this  continent:  on 
the  north,  the  nomads  of  the  steppes  of  the  Caspian ;  on 
the  south,  the  nomads  of  Arabia  and  its  deserts  form  the 
natural  limits  of  the  civilized  world  of  these  countries. 
Compared  with  the  East,  the  areas  are  less  vast,  the 
reliefs  less  elevated,  the  nature  less  continental  —  not- 
withstanding its  more  central  position  —  the  contrasts 
less  strongly  pronounced,  the  whole  more  accessible. 

Here,  as  we  have  said,  is  the  original  country  of  the 
white  race,  the  most  perfect  in  body  and  mind.  If  we 
take  tradition  for  our  guide,  and  follow  step  by  step  the 
march  of  the  primitive  nations,  as  we  ascend  to  their 
point  of  departure,  they  irresistibly  lead  us  to  the  very 
centre  of  this  plateau.  Now,  in  this  central  part  also, 
in  Upper  Armenia  and  in  Persia,  if  you  remember,  we 
find  the  purest  type  of  the  historical  nations.  Thence 


CONTRAST  OF  EAST  AND  WEST. 


293 


we  behold  them  descend  into  the  arable  plains,  and 
spread  towards  all  the  quarters  of  the  horizon.  The 
ancient  people  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia  pass  down  the 
Euphrates  and  the  Tigris  into  the  plains  of  the  South, 
and  there  unfold,  perhaps  the  most  ancient  of  all  human 
civilization.  First,  the  Zend  nation  dwells  along  the 
Araxes,  then,  by  the  road  of  the  plateau,  proceeds  to 
found,  in  the  plains  of  the  Oxus,  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able and  the  most  mysterious  of  the  primitive  commu- 
nities of  Asia.  A  branch  of  the  same  people,  or  a  kin- 
dred people  —  the  intimate  connection  of  their  language 
confirms  it  —  comes  down  into  India,  and  there  puts  forth 
that  brilliant  and  flourishing  civilization  of  the  Brah- 
mins, of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  Arabia  and 
the  North  of  Africa  receive  their  inhabitants  by  Soris- 
tan ;  South  Europe,  perhaps,  by  the  same  routes,  through 
Asia  Minor;  the  North,  finally,  through  the  Caucasus, 
whence  issue,  in  succession,  the  Celts,  the  Germans,  and 
many  other  tribes,  who  hold  in  reserve  their  native 
vigor  for  the  future  destinies  of  this  continent.  There 
then  is  the  cradle  of  the  white  race  at  least  —  of  the 
historical  people  —  if  it  is  not  that  of  all  mankind. 

The  civilizations  of  Western  Asia  also,  as  well  as 
those  of  Eastern  Asia,  spring  up  in  the  alluvial  plains 
which  are  easily  tilled,  and  alike  connect  themselves 
with  the  great  rivers,  and  not,  as  in  Europe,  with  the 
seas.  The  plains  of  Babylonia  and  of  Bactriana  are 
continental,  and  not  maritime,  like  India  and  China. 
The  contrasts  of  nature  are  still  strongly  expressed,  but 
yet  less  so  than  in  the  East.  There  are  still  vast  spaces, 
and  consequently  vast  states.  The  religions,  the  polit- 
25* 


294  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

ical  and  social  condition  of  the  people,  still  betray  the 
influence  of  a  nature  man  has  not  yet  succeeded  in 
overmastering. 

The  civilizations  are  still  local,  and  each  has  its  special 
principle :  and  yet  there  is  no  more  of  isolation.  The 
accessible  nature  of  all  these  regions,  as  we  have  seen, 
makes  contact  easy,  and  facilitates  their  action  upon 
each  other ;  a  blending  is  possible,  and  it  takes  place. 
The  formation  of  great  monarchies,  embracing  the 
whole  of  Western  Asia,  from  India  to  Asia  Minor,  from 
the  steppes  of  Turan  to  the  deserts  of  Arabia,  is  a  fact 
renewed  at  every  period  of  their  history.  Assyria, 
Babylonia,  Persia,  reunite  successively  under  the  do- 
minion of  the  same  conqueror  all  these  various  nations. 
But  no  one  knew  so  well  as  Alexander  how  to  break 
down  all  the  fences  that  kept  them  apart.  The  lofty 
idea  which  reigned  in  the  mind  of  that  great  conqueror, 
that  of  fusing  together  the  East  and  the  West,  carried 
with  it  the  ruin  of  the  special  civilizations  of  the  East 
and  the  universal  communication  of  Hellenic  culture, 
which  should  combine  them  in  one  spirit,  and  drew  the 
whole  of  that  part  of  the  world  into  the  progressive 
movement  Greece  herself  had  impressed  on  the  countries 
of  the  West. 

Egypt,  alone,  in  her  isolation,  represents,  up  to  a  cer- 
tain point,  the  nature  of  Eastern  Asia.  Yet  she,  too, 
was  compelled  to  yield  to  the  social  and  progressive 
spirit  of  Greece,  which  soon  brought  her  into  the  circle 
of  relations  with  the  nations  of  the  West. 

Thus  the  people  and  the  civilizations  of  Western  Asia 
were  saved  from  the  isolation  and  egoism  so  fatal 


EUROPE  FITTED  FOR  IMPROVEMENT  OF  MAN.  295 

to  China  and  to  India.  They  perished  in  appearance, 
but  it  was  only  to  sow  among  the  very  nations  who 
were  their  conquerors,  the  prolific  seeds  of  a  fairer 
growth,  whereof  the  future  should  gather  the  fruits. 

Europe,  in  her  turn,  has  a  character  quite  special, 
whose  principal  features  we  have  already  pointed  out. 
Although  constructed  upon  the  same  fundamental  plan 
with  the  two  Asias,  it  is  only  the  peninsular  head- 
land of  all  this  continent.  Here  are  no  more  of  those 
gigantesque  forms  of  Eastern  Asia,  no  more  of  those 
boundless  spaces,  no  more  of  those  obstacles  against 
which  the  forces  of  man  are  powerless,  of  those  contrasts 
that  sunder  the  opposite  natures,  even  to  incompatibil- 
ity. The  areas  contract  and  shrink ;  the  plateaus  and 
the  mountains  are  lowered ;  the  continent  opens  on  all 
sides.  None  of  those  mortal  deserts  to  cross,  none  of 
those  impassable  mountain  chains,  which  imprison  the 
nations.  From  the  foot  of  Italy  to  the  head  of  Cape 
North,  from  the  coasts  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  shores  of 
the  Caspian,  there  is  no  obstacle  a  little  art  may  not 
overcome  without  much  effort.  The  whole  continent 
is  more  accessible  ;  it  seems  more  wieldy,  better  fashioned 
for  man. 

And  yet,  gentlemen,  all  the  contrasts  of  both  Asias 
exist,  but  they  are  softened,  tempered.  There  is  a 
Northern  World,  and  a  Southern  World,  but  they  are 
less  different,  less  hostile ;  their  climates  are  more  alike. 
Instead  of  the  tropical  plains  of  India,  we  find  there  the 
fields  of  Lombardy  ;  instead  of  the  Himalaya,  the  Alps  ; 
instead  of  the  plateaus  of  Tubet,  those  of  Bavaria.  The 
contrasts  are  even  more  varied,  more  numerous  still. 


296 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


The  table  land  of  the  South  is  broken  up  into  peninsulas 
and  islands ;  Greece  and  its  archipelago,  Italy  and  its 
isles,  Spain  and  its  sierras,  are  so  many  new  individuals, 
exciting  each  other  reciprocally  to  animation.  The 
ground  is  everywhere  cut  and  crossed  by  chains  of 
mountains,  moulded  in  a  thousand  fashions,  in  such 
a  way  as  to  present,  within  the  smallest  possible 
space,  the  greatest  number  of  districts  physically  inde- 
pendent. 

Add  to  all  these  advantages  that  of  a  temperate  cli- 
mate, rather  cold  than  hot,  requiring  of  men  more  labor 
and  effort,  and  you  will  be  satisfied  that  nature  is  no- 
where better  suited  to  lift  man  by  the  exertion  of  his 
powers  to  the  grandeur  of  his  destination. 

Nevertheless,  the  earliest  civilized  societies  do  not 
spring  up  in  Europe ;  she  is  too  far  removed  from 
the  cradle  of  the  nations,  and  the  beginnings  are 
less  easy  there.  But  these  first  difficulties  once  over- 
come, civilization  grows  and  prospers  with  a  vigor 
unknown  to  Asia.  In  Asia  it  is  in  the  great  plains, 
on  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  that  civilization  first  shows 
itself.  In  Europe,  it  is  on  the  peninsulas  and  the  margin 
of  the  seas. 

Europe  is  thus  the  most  favored  continent,  considered 
with  respect  to  the  education  of  man,  and  the  wise 
discipline  it  exercises  upon  him.  More  than  any  other 
it  calls  into  full  play  his  latent  forces,  which  cannot 
appear  and  display  themselves,  except  by  their  own 
activity.  Nowhere  can  man  better  learn  to  subdue 
nature,  and  make  her  minister  to  his  ends.  No  con- 
tinent is  more  fitted,  by  the  multiplicity  of  the  physical 


AMERICA. 


297 


regions  it  presents,  to  bring  into  being,  and  to  raise  up 
so  many  different  nations  and  peoples. 

But  it  is  not  alone  for  the  individual  education  of 
each  people  that  Europe  excels;  it  is  still  more  ad- 
mirably adapted  than  any  other  continent  to  favor 
the  common  relations  of  the  countries  with  each  other ; 
to  increase  their  reciprocal  influence,  to  stimulate  them 
to  mutual  intercourse.  The  smallness  of  the  areas, 
the  near  neighborhood,  the  midland  seas  thick  strown 
with  islands,  the  permeability  of  the  entire  continent 
— pardon  me  the  word — everything  conspires  to  estab- 
lish between  the  European  nations  that  community 
of  life  and  of  civilization  which  forms  one  of  the 
most  essential  and  precious  characteristics  of  their 
social  state. 

America,  finally,  the  third  continent  of  the  North, 
presents  itself  to  us  under  an  aspect  entirely  different. 
We  are  already  acquainted  with  its  structure,  founded 
on  a  plan  widely  departing  from  that  of  Asia-Europe ; 
we  know  that  its  characteristic  is  simplicity,  unity. 
Add  to  this  feature  its  vast  extents,  its  fruitful  plains, 
its  numberless  rivers,  the  prodigious  facility  of  com- 
munication, nowhere  impeded  by  serious  obstacles,  its 
oceanic  position,  finally,  and  we  shall  see  that  it  is 
made,  not  to  give  birth  and  growth  to  a  new  civiliza- 
tion, but  to  receive  one  ready-made,  and  to  furnish  forth 
for  man,  whose  education  the  Old  World  has  completed, 
the  most  magnificent  theatre,  the  scene  most  worthy 
of  his  activity.  It  is  here  that  all  the  peoples  of  Europe 
may  meet  together,  with  room  enough  to  move  in ; 
may  commingle  their  efforts  and  their  gifts,  and  carry 


298  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

out,  upon  a  scale  of  grandeur  hitherto  unknown,  the 
life-giving  principle  of  modern  times — the  principle  of 
free  association. 

The  internal  contrasts  which  assisted  the  development 
of  the  nations  in  their  infancy  and  youth,  exist  not 
here  ;  they  would  be  useless.  They  are  reduced  to  two 
general  contrasts,  which  will  preserve  their  importance  ; 
the  sea-shore  and  midland  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
North  and  the  South  on  the  other.  The  last  will  be  fur- 
ther softened  down,  when  slavery,  that  fatal  heritage  of 
another  age,  which  the  Union  stills  drags  after  it,  as  the 
convict  drags  his  chain  and  ball,  shall  have  disap- 
peared from  this  free  soil,  freed  in  the  name  of  liberty  and 
Christian  brotherhood,  as  it  has  disappeared  from  the 
fundamental  principles  of  its  law. 

Thus  America  also  seems  invited,  by  its  physical 
nature  and  by  its  position,  to  play  a  part  in  the  history 
of  humanity,  very  different  indeed  from  that  of  Asia 
and  Europe,  but  not  less  glorious,  not  less  useful  to  all 
mankind. 


LECTUKE  XII. 


Geographical  march  of  history  —  Asia  the  cradle  of  civilization  — 
Common  character  of  the  primitive  nations  —  Powerful  influence  of 
nature  —  The  human  race  in  its  infancy  lives  under  authority,  which 
becomes  slavery  —  Civilization  passes  to  Europe  —  Greece;  period  of 
youth;  emancipation,  and  intellectual  and  moral  development ;  action 
on  the  East  and  West;  the  Greek  the  teacher  of  the  world — Rome; 
her  work,  political  and  social — Inability  of  the  Ancient  World  to 
attain  the  end  of  humanity  —  Coming  of  Christ ;  his  doctrines  new  in 
a  historical  point  of  view  —  The  Germanic  Christian  world  begins 
their  application  —  Civilization  passes  to  the  North,  and  embraces  all 
Europe ;  its  different  phases  —  Europe  owes  it  to  the  rest  of  the  world 
—  Discovery  of  America  —  Universal  inroad  of  the  civilized  nations  — 
Social  work  begun  at  the  same  time  —  America  must  finish  it  —  The 
people  of  the  future;  by  ivhat  signs  recognized — Conclusions  —  Fore- 
seen solution  of  the  contrast  of  the  three  Northern  continents  and  the 
three  Southern  —  Duties  of  the  privileged  races  towards  the  inferior  — 
A  few  words  upon  the  method  pursued — Science  and  faith. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : — 

The  examination  we  have  made  of  the  structure  of 
the  northern  continents,  considered  in  respect  of  the 
influence  they  exercise  through  their  physical  nature 
upon  the  condition  of  human  societies,  enables  us  to 
judge  in  advance  that  they  are  formed  to  act  different 
parts  in  the  education  of  mankind.  It  remains  to  be 
seen  whether  the  course  of  history  will  confirm  these 
anticipations.  Now,  if  we  find  a  real  concordance,  a 
harmony  between  these  two  orders  of  facts,  we  may 


300  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

fearlessly  assert  that  these  differences  of  physical  organi- 
zation were  intentional,  and  prepared  for  this  end  by 
Him  who  controls  the  destinies  of  the  world. 

The  first  glance  we  cast  upon  the  annals  of  the 
nations,  enables  us  to  perceive  a  singular  but  incon- 
testable fact,  that  the  civilizations  representing  the 
highest  degree  of  culture  ever  attained  by  man,  at  the 
different  periods  of  his  history,  do  not  succeed  each 
other  in  the  same  places,  but  pass  from  one  country  to 
another,  from  one  continent  to  another,  following  a 
certain  order.  This  order  may  be  called  the  geograph- 
ical march  of  history.  We  now  proceed  to  set  this  forth 
by  a  rapid  review  of  the  great  phases  through  which 
human  societies  have  passed  in  their  gradual  improve- 
ment. 

Asia,  the  country  of  the  superior  races,  Western  Asia, 
above  all,  the  country  of  the  white  race,  of  the  historical 
race,  is  also  the  cradle  of  the  earliest  civilized  commu- 
nities whose  existence  is  commemorated  by  history. 

Tradition  universally  represents  the  earliest  men 
descending,  it  is  true,  from  the  high  table  lands  of  this 
continent ;  but  it  is  in  the  low  and  fertile  plains  lying  at 
their  feet,  with  which  we  are  already  acquainted,  that 
they  unite  themselves  for  the  first  time  in  national 
bodies,  in  tribes,  with  fixed  habitations ;  devoting  them- 
selves to  husbandry,  building  cities,  cultivating  the  arts  : 
in  a  word,  forming  well-regulated  societies.  The  tradi- 
tions of  the  Chinese  place  the  first  progenitors  of  that 
people  on  the  high  table  land,  whence  the  great  rivers 
flow;  they  make  them  advance,  station  by  station,  as 
far  as  the  shores  of  the  ocean.     The  people  of  the 


ASIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  CIVILIZATION.-  301 

Brahmins  come  down  from  the  regions  of  the  Hindo- 
Khu,  and  from  Cashmere,  into  the  plains  of  the  Indus 
and  the  Ganges;  Assyria  and  Bactriana  receive  their 
inhabitants  from  the  table  lands  of  Armenia  and  Persia. 

These  alluvial  plains,  watered  by  their  twin  rivers, 
were  better  formed  than  all  other  countries  of  the  globe, 
tq  render  the  first  steps  of  man,  an  infant  still,  easy  in 
the  career  of  civilized  life.  A  rich  soil,  on  which  over- 
flowing rivers  spread  every  year  a  fruitful  loam,  as  in 
Egypt,  and  one  where  the  plough  is  almost  useless,  so 
movable  and  so  easily  tilled  is  it,  a  warm  climate, 
finally,  secure  to  the  inhabitants  of  these  fortunate 
regions  plentiful  harvests  in  return  for  light  labor. 
Nevertheless,  the  conflict  with  the  river  itself  and  with 
the  desert,  which,  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  as  on 
those  of  the  Nile  and  the  Indus,  is  ever  threatening  to 
invade  the  cultivated  lands,  the  necessity  of  irrigation, 
the  inconstancy  of  the  seasons,  keep  forethought  alive 
and  give  birth  to  the  useful  arts  and  to  the  sciences  of 
observation.  The  abundance  of  resources,  the  absence 
of  every  obstacle,  of  all  separation  between  the  different 
parts  of  these  vast  plains,  allow  the  aggregation  of  a 
great  number  of  men  upon  one  and  the  same  space, 
and  facilitate  the  formation  of  those  mighty  primitive 
states  which  amaze  us  by  the  grandeur  of  their  propor- 
tions. 

Each  of  them  finds  upon  its  own  soil  all  that  is  neces- 
sary for  a  brilliant  exhibition  of  its  resources.  We  see 
those  nations  come  rapidly  forward  and  reach  in  the 
remotest  antiquity  a  degree  of  culture,  of  which  the 
temples  and  the  monuments  of  Egypt  and  of  India,  and 
26 


302  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

the  recently  discovered  palaces  of  Nineveh,  are  living 
and  glorious  witnesses. 

Great  nations,  then,  are  separately  formed  in  each  of 
these  areas,  circumscribed  by  nature  within  natural 
limits.  Each  has  its  religion,  its  social  principles,  its 
civilization  severally.  But  nature,  as  we  have  seen, 
has  separated  them;  little  intercourse  is  established 
between  them ;  the  social  principle  on  which  they  are 
founded  is  exhausted  by  the  very  formation  of  the  social 
state  they  enjoy,  and  is  never  renewed.  A  common 
life  is  wanting  to  them ;  they  do  not  reciprocally  share 
with  each  other  their  riches.  With  them  movement 
is  stopped;  everything  becomes  stable  and  tends  to 
remain  stationary. 

Meantime,  in  spite  of  the  peculiar  seal  impressed  on 
each  of  these  Oriental  nations  by  the  natural  conditions 
in  the  midst  of  which  they  live,  they  have,  neverthe- 
less, some  grand  characteristics  common  to  all,  some 
family  traits  that  betray  the  nature  of  the  continent 
and  the  period  of  human  progress  to  which  they  be- 
long, making  them  known  on  the  one  side  as  Asiatic, 
and  on  the  other  side  as  primitive. 

The  causes  of  this  phenomenon  are  at  once  of  a  moral 
nature  and  of  a  physical  nature. 

Man  is  still  in  the  period  of  infancy,  and  infancy  must 
needs  be  trained  under  the  authority  of  a  law  which 
guides  his  first  steps.  Even  by  virtue  of  an  inward 
nature,  of  a  moral  nature  reflecting  the  divine  image  of 
his  Maker,  he  cannot  grow  up  to  complete  development, 
to  his  perfect  stature,  except  by  fulfilling  the  will  of 
Him  who  calls  him  to  such  lofty  destinies.    This  will 


INFANCY  OF  MANKIND. 


303 


is  the  supreme  good;  all  that  departs  from  it  is  evil. 
Man  created  free  must  fulfil  it  freely,  and  with  con- 
sciousness of  its  excellence;  but  this  very  liberty,  the 
most  infallible  sign  of  the  nobleness  of  his  nature,  con- 
ceals the  danger  of  a  fearful  fall.  This  liberty  led  the 
men  of  the  earliest  times  on  to  that  pitch  of  wickedness 
which  rendered  necessary  the  first  great  catastrophe  of 
the  human  race,  that  earliest  great  punishment  of  the 
Flood,  of  which  all  nations,  even  the  most  barbarous, 
have  preserved  an  appalling  memory.  Above  all  things 
it  is  the  duty  of  man,  if  the  work  of  his  discipline  is  not 
to  stop  short  of  its  end,  to  learn  his  dependence  upon  the 
Judge  of  good  and  of  evil ;  to  learn  that  saving  fear  of 
God  which  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  and  which  alone 
can  regulate  the  employment  of  his  liberty,  and  hinder 
him  from  surrendering  himself  to  the  irregular  inclina- 
tions of  his  finite  nature.  Now,  God  had  revealed 
himself  to  man ;  had  made  known  to  him  his  will,  and 
pointed  out  the  path  which  he  ought  to  have  followed. 
The  Creator  himself  condescended  to  guide  the  steps  of 
the  creature  upon  the  long  journey  he  had  to  travel. 
This  is  what  the  Bible  tells  us ;  this  is  confirmed  by 
the  vague  memorials  of  all  the  primitive  nations,  whose 
oldest  traditions,  those  antecedent  to  the  philosophical 
Theogonies  prevalent  at  a  later  period,  and  giving  them 
their  specific  character,  contain  always  some  disfigured 
fragment  of  this  divine  history. 

But  man  soon  became  unfaithful ;  like  a  true  prodigal 
son,  he  abandoned  the  benevolent  Father,  under  whose 
protection  he  was  living ;  he  cast  off  the  yoke  easy  to 
bear ;  he  forgot  the  living  God  who  had  been  revealed 


304 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


to  him,  and,  submitting  to  the  lower  instincts  of  his 
being,  he  fell  under  the  power  of  nature. 

Recall,  meantime,  to  your  minds,  gentlemen,  all  that 
we  have  learned  of  the  stupendous  and  massive  forms 
of  that  Oriental  nature,  of  its  insuperable  contrasts,  of 
its  climate,  tropical  in  India  and  in  a  part  of  China, 
very  hot  still  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and  the 
Nile;  of  that  physical  vigor  which  the  Old  World 
displays  upon  all  the  points  favored  by  the  copiousness 
of  the  waters,  and  you  will  understand  that  man,  a 
child  still,  brought  into  the  presence  of  such  a  power, 
must  have  felt  himself,  not  merely  a  dependent,  but 
a  slave.  The  river  he  looks  to  for  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  that  feeds  him  —  the  animal,  the  plant,  that 
minister  to  his  wants — the  sun,  above  all,  that  bright  orb 
which  reigns  over  nature,  and  in  alternate  march  seems 
to  dispense  either  life  or  death  at  his  will  —  everything 
becomes  to  him  an  object  of  worship.  He  acknowledges 
the  powers  of  nature  as  his  gods,  to  whose  mercy  he  feels 
himself  to  be  committed,  and  accepts  for  his  supreme  rule 
the  inflexible  law  that  governs  the  heavenly  bodies.  He 
is  falling  from  the  world  of  liberty  into  that  of  necessity. 

After  this,  what  reason  is  there  to  be  astonished  that 
everything  in  those  ancient  civilizations  bears  the  impress 
of  the  subjection  of  human  liberty  to  the  yoke  of  nature? 
All  the  religions,  however  varied  they  may  otherwise 
appear,  are  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  hosts.  The 
immutable,  blind  laws  of  necessity,  regulating  the  courses 
of  the  celestial  bodies  and  the  life  of  nature,  these  are 
the  gods  of  the  early  East ;  inflexible,  despotic,  unloving, 
inexorable. 


MAN  ENSLAVED  BY  NATURE. 


305 


There  all  science  appears  as  traditional.  Man  attains 
not  to  the  light  by  his  own  activity.  The  truth  is  not 
the  recompense  of  his  efforts,  of  his  progress,  of  the  free 
unfolding  of  his  faculties.  It  is  transmitted  to  him 
already  prepared  from  elsewhere. 

In  social  life,  casts,  separated  by  insurmountable  bar- 
riers consecrated  by  religion  itself;  or,  in  the  patriarchal 
state,  domestic  relations,  imposed  by  nature,  restrain  the 
free  movement  of  the  human  faculties. 

In  political  life,  absolute  monarchy,  the  entire  organi- 
zation of  which  is  only  the  earthly  image  of  the  great 
Celestial  Court  of  the  Sun  and  his  retinue,  and  of  which 
the  chief,  representative  of  the  Deity  himself,  is  clothed 
with  an  unlimited  power  like  him,  and  like  him  pro- 
nounces irrevocable  decrees. 

Such  are  the  features  common  to  all  the  civilized  com- 
munities of  the  early  East ;  one  people  alone  forms  an 
exception,  —  poor  and  insignificant  in  appearance,  but 
great  in  its  destinies ;  —  it  is  the  Jewish  people,  the 
people  of  God.  In  the  midst  of  the  defection  of  all  the 
nations,  they  received  the  glorious  mission  of  preserving 
in  the  world  the  knowledge  of  the  only  personal,  living, 
and  true  God.  Placed  under  His  law,  they  would  have 
been  able  to  show,  had  they  remained  always  faithful, 
what  man  might  have  become  under  the  paternal  gov- 
ernment of  his  Creator;  but  their  history  is  scarcely 
anything  but  that  of  disobedience  and  chastisement,  and 
it  enables  us  the  better  to  see  that  at  this  first  period  of 
his  development,  man  is  under  the  law,  and  not  under 
the  economy  of  grace  and  liberty. 

During  the  long  centuries  of  these  first  ages,  man  has 
26* 


306  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

therefore  learned  but  one  thing,  that  he  depends  on  the 
will  of  a  master,  but  that  master  is  an  inexorable  despot, 
devoid  of  love.  He  can  only  fear  him ;  if  he  obeys  him, 
it  is  as  a  slave ;  he  loves  him  not,  nor  adores  him,  for 
love  presupposes  liberty. 

Man  cannot,  gentlemen,  remain  thus.  A  cry  of  liberty 
makes  itself  heard;  it  reechoes  to  the  depths  of  that  East 
which  groans  in  its  chains ;  it  issues  from  the  land  of  the 
West,  a  land  of  emancipation  and  liberty ;  from  that 
Europe  which  in  a  thousand  various  ways  allures  man 
to  the  free  culture  of  his  faculties.  In  a  small  corner  of 
the  earth,  neighboring  still  to  the  East,  but  admirably 
organized,  in  that  small  peninsula  of  Greece,  where  all 
the  varied  contrasts  of  the  whole  continent  seem  to  be 
repeated  in  a  narrow  space,  under  a  climate  blessed  of 
Heaven,  a  new  people  arise,  upon  a  new  land,  a  free 
people,  a  people  of  brethren.  With  them  the  period  of 
youth  commences ;  human  consciousness  awakes  with 
energy;  man  recovers  himself;  the  slave  bent  beneath 
his  yoke  springs  up  and  holds  his  head  erect.  The 
Greek,  with  his  festivals,  his  songs,  his  poetry,  seems  to 
celebrate,  in  a  perpetual  hymn,  the  liberation  of  man 
from  the  mighty  fetters  of  nature. 

A  new  civilization  is  to  be  born ;  all  these  riches  of 
poetry,  of  intellect,  of  reason,  which  are  the  heritage  of 
the  human  mind,  display  themselves  without  obstacle, 
and  expand  in  the  sun  of  liberty.  Who  can  describe  all 
there  is  of  fresh  and  youthful  energy  in  that  people  of 
artists  and  philosophers,  whose  efforts  open  to  us  a  world 
entirely  new  ?  This  is  no  longer  the  world  of  nature  ;  it 
is  that  of  the  human  soul.   Everything,  in  fact,  with  the 


MAN  EMANCIPATED  IN  GREECE. 


307 


Greek  bears  that  eminently  human  character  which 
betrays  the  preponderance  of  human  personality  and 
the  energy  of  individual  character. 

His  religion  is  a  deification  of  the  faculties  and  affec- 
tions of  man.  In  place  ^f  the  passionless,  immovable 
deities  of  Egypt  and  of  Persia,  his  Olympus  presents  the 
animated  spectacle  of  an  assembly  of  human  persons, 
free  and  independent,  presided  over  by  the  happy  con- 
queror of  the  elder  gods  of  nature.  Destiny,  banished 
almost  beyond  the  confines  of  heaven,  hardly  reminds 
us  of  those  blind  and  deaf  gods,  those  gods  of  necessity, 
who  reigned  absolutely  over  all  the  East.  When  the 
forces  of  nature,  when  the  trees  of  the  forests,  the  moun- 
tains, the  springs,  and  the  rivers,  appear  as  objects  of 
worship,  it  is  under  the  form  of  gods,  of  goddesses,  and 
of  nymphs,  endowed  with  all  the  affections,  and  subject 
to  all  the  weaknesses  of  common  mortals. 

Greek  science  is  no  longer  merely  traditional ;  we  see 
its  birth  and  its  growth ;  it  is  the  production  of  the 
efforts  of  the  human  soul ;  it  is  progressive ;  the  Greek 
no  longer  goes  to  the  outer  world  of  nature  in  search  of 
wisdom,  but  descends  to  the  depths  of  human  conscious- 
ness. With  Socrates  and  his  school,  philosophy  has 
passed  from  the  realm  of  nature  into  the  realm  of  man ; 
she  has  become  a  moral  philosophy. 

In  the  social  life  of  the  Greeks,  no  more  castes,  nc 
more  of  those  hard  sacerdotal  despotisms  of  the  East> 
which,  by  regulating  human  existence  in  detail,  hinder 
its  improvement;  but  communities  of  free  and  equal  men, 
and  the  predominance  of  democracy,  that  is,  of  individ- 
ual and  local  life  ;  these  are  its  characteristics. 


308 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


Such  is  the  impulse  the  awakening  of  human  person- 
ality impresses  on  this  chosen  people,  that  a  few  cen- 
turies suffice  to  achieve  the  work  of  the  most  brilliant 
display  of  the  human  mind,  and  of  a  culture  leaving  far 
behind  all  the  nations  of  the  East.  Among  them  all 
the  flowers  of  genius  bloom  together ;  their  poets,  their 
sculptors,  their  historians,  their  philosophers,  have  been, 
down  to  our  day,  and  will  hereafter  be,  the  guides  and 
the  models  of  the  man  of  taste  and  intelligence,  in  all 
countries  and  in  all  ages.  The  Greek  becomes  the 
teacher  of  the  whole  world. 

The  civilization  of  the  Greeks  is  a  conquest  of  man 
1oo  beautiful  to  remain  confined  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  this  petty  country  and  inconsiderable  people  ;  all 
mankind  must  needs  enjoy  the  benefit.  The  East, 
having  given  so  much  to  Greece  during  her  infancy, 
possessed  the  first  rights  in  the  achievements  of  her 
maturity.  The  conquests  of  Alexander  begin  the  work 
of  planting  Grecian  culture  in  the  ancient  soil  of  Asia, 
in  the  bosom  of  those  worn-out  nations  which  seem 
ready  to  perish  in  their  weakness.  A  fresh  sap  flows 
through  them,  and  Western  Asia,  drawn  forcibly  into 
the  movement  of  the  nations  of  the  West,  henceforth 
takes  her  part  in  their  progress  and  their  vicissitudes. 
Eastern  Asia  alone  is  untouched,  and  remains  station- 
ary. India  and  China,  fossil  remains  of  that  ancient 
Orient  which  perished  under  the  blows  of  the  Greeks, 
subsist,  as  if  to  represent,  down  to  the  present  moment, 
the  antique  civilization  of  the  first  ages,  and  to  show  the 
imbecility  of  its  principle.  At  a  later  period,  Rome, 
with  her  rude  warriors,  comes  herself  to  seek  for  culture 


GREEK  CIVILIZATION. 


309 


and  the  arts  on  the  soil  of  Greece ;  and  Greece,  conquered 
by  arms,  still  reigns  by  her  genius  over  her  very  con- 
querors. 

Nevertheless,  gentlemen,  the  Greek,  who  carried  the 
individual  culture  of  man  to  so  high  a  pitch,  knew  not 
how  to  establish  the  social  relations  on  a  solid  basis,  nor 
to  organize  a  national  body,  nor  to  combine  the  peoples 
subjected  to  his  influence  into  a  system  of  nations 
strongly  united  together.  I  wish  for  no  other  proofs 
than  that  terrible  Peloponnesian  war,  that  fratricidal 
struggle,  from  which  dates  the  decline  of  Greece,  and 
the  lamentable  history  of  the  Empire  of  Alexander  and 
his  successors.  The  Greek  principle  is  individuality, 
and  not  association,  and  this  is  still  further  determined 
by  the  race,  by  the  tribe ;  that  is,  by  nature,  and  not 
by  voluntary  agreement. 

This  political  and  social  work  is  a  new  work,  and  is 
entrusted  to  a  new  country  and  a  new  people.  The 
centre  of  the  civilized  world  again  changes  place ;  it 
takes  a  step  further  towards  the  West ;  its  circumference 
enlarges ;  it  embraces  at  once  the  South,  the  East,  and 
the  West.  Rome,  more  skilled  in  the  arts  of  conquest, 
and  of  establishing  solid  and  durable  political  ties  be- 
tween the  nations,  combines  in  one  and  the  same  social 
net- work  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the  Ancient  World. 
The  place  she  occupies  in  the  very  middle  of  the  basin 
of  the  Mediterranean,  seems  to  foretell  that  she  is 
destined  to  become  the  metropolis  of  all  the  cultivated 
peoples  who  dwell  upon  its  shores.  This  vast  empire 
recombines  the  various  elements  of  all  the  foregoing 
epochs  in  one  and  the  same  civilization,  and  the  Roman 


310  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

world,  having  profited  by  all  these  advantages,  offers 
the  spectacle  of  the  most  brilliant  social  epoch  of  which 
the  history  of  antiquity  has  anything  to  say. 

And  yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  advances,  if  we  look 
somewhat  nearer,  what  inability  to  accomplish  the  aim 
of  humanity,  what  universal  selfishness  and  corruption ! 
No  common  faith  binds  together  the  nations,  aggre- 
gated, rather  than  united.  Rome  exacts  only  one 
worship,  that  of  the  Emperor,  who  personifies  the  state. 
On  all  sides,  conquerors  and  conquered  still  are  found, 
and  in  this  land  of  liberty  one  half  of  the  men  are  slaves 
to  the  other.  The  Roman  world,  like  all  the  rest,  is  to 
perish  by  its  own  vices. 

Thus  far,  as  you  see,  gentlemen,  man  has  attempted 
to  go  his  own  way,  growing  up  without  God.  He  has 
not,  however,  been  abandoned,  as  his  progress  shows ; 
but  he  has  exhausted  all  the  spells  and  conjurations  this 
procedure  enabled  him  to  try.  He  is  convinced  of  his 
weakness ;  doubt  takes  hold  of  him  and  devours  him  ; 
despair  stands  at  his  gate.  All  the  literature  of  the 
Roman  Empire  confirms  this.  He  has  passed  from  the 
idolatry  of  nature  to  that  of  man ;  from  the  idolatry  of 
man  to  that  of  society,  represented  by  the  head  of  the 
state.  He  must  return  to  the  true  God,  or  there  is  no 
hope  for  him  in  the  future. 

It  was  then  that  the  meek  form  of  the  Saviour 
appeared  upon  the  scene  of  the  world.  What  comes 
he  to  teach  upon  the  earth  ]  He  recalls  man  to  the  only 
God,  personal,  free,  full  of  love,  merciful,  the  God  of 
salvation.  He  proclaims  the  equal  worth  of  every 
human  soul,  for  he  died  for  all.     He  gives  unto  men 


COMING  OF  THE  SAVIOUR. 


311 


that  new  commandment,  u  Love  one  another  as  I  have 
loved  you,"  for  ye  are  all  brethren,  and  children  of  the 
same  Father. 

Thus,  no  more  idolatry,  no  more  servitude;  for  he 
liberated  man  from  the  yoke  of  evil  that  restrains  the 
freedom  of  his  moral  being.  No  more  thraldom;  for 
that  is  incompatible  with  the  rights  of  his  brethren  and 
with  the  love  he  owes  them.  No  more  national  reli- 
gions, opening  between  the  nations  abysses  that  noth- 
ing can  fill  up.  All  the  nations  of  the  earth  must  unite 
together  in  spirit,  by  the  bonds  of  the  same  faith,  under 
the  law  of  the  same  God.  This  is  the  lofty  goal  to 
which  henceforth  all  human  societies  ought  to  aim. 
The  world  hears  the  unity  and  brotherhood  of  all  human 
kind  proclaimed,  without  distinction  of  nation  or  of  race 
—  the  true  principle  of  humanity.  This  is  the  leaven 
that  is  to  leaven  the  whole  lump ;  it  is  upon  this  new 
basis  that  humanity,  recommencing  its  task,  goes  on  to 
build  a  new  edifice. 

But  what  people  shall  be  charged  with  this  immense 
work?  Shall  it  be  that  old  Roman  society,  wholly 
pagan  still  in  its  origin  and  in  its  forms,  stained  by 
slavery  and  violence,  condemned  long  since  to  perish  for 
its  crimes  ?  That  body  whose  sap  is  gone,  whose  princi- 
ple of  life  is  exhausted,  whose  work  is  finished,  —  can 
it  be  bom  again '?  No,  gentlemen,  it  is  glory  enough  for 
the  Roman  world  to  have  received  and  borne  in  its 
bosom  this  precious  seed  of  the  future,  and  to  have 
shielded  its  earlier  growth.  The  Church  had  her  birth 
there,  but  the  Christian  world  must  needs  bloom  else- 
where. 


312 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


The  North  is  summoned  in  turn ;  the  fierce  Germans, 
after  five  centuries  of  struggle,  break  down  the  old 
empire,  but  adopt  Christianity.  In  the  midst  of  this 
great  and  universal  ruin,  the  Church  alone  remains 
upright,  and  becomes  the  corner  stone  of  the  new  edi- 
fice. Civilization  passes  to  the  other  side  of  the  Alps, 
where  it  establishes  its  centre.  A  still  virgin  country, 
a  people  full  of  youth  and  life,  receive  it ;  it  grows  under 
the  influence  of  the  Christian  principle  of  unity  and 
brotherhood.  A  common  faith  unites  all  the  members 
of  that  society  of  the  middle  ages,  so  strangely  broken 
up;  those  nations,  so  different,  so  hostile  to  each  other 
in  appearance,  nevertheless  look  upon  one  another  as 
brothers,  and  form  together  the  great  family  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  circle  of  civilization  soon  widens,  and 
embraces  all  Europe  in  the  same  range  of  improve- 
ment ;  no  people,  however,  takes  part  unless  it  shares 
the  common  faith;  but,  from  the  day  of  its  conversion, 
also  dates  its  entrance  upon  the  path  of  progress. 

Meantime,  through  many  internal  struggles,  great 
states  are  gradually  forming,  the  modern  nations  appear; 
full  a  thousand  years  have  scarcely  sufficed  for  these 
protracted  throes.  Different  in  characters,  opposite  in 
interests,  long  isolated  from  each  other,  these  nations, 
having  grown  to  maturity,  enter  into  reciprocal  rela- 
tions. These  relations  are  hostile  at  first ;  but  the 
blending  of  so  many  various  interests  hastens  their 
progress ;  bonds  of  intimacy  are  established ;  a  greater 
community  of  interests,  of  ideas,  of  civilization  in  a  word, 
strengthens  the  craving  for  harmony,  and  the  balance 
of  power  in  Europe  becomes  the  aim  of  all  high  policy. 


PROGRESS  AND  IMPROVEMENT. 


313 


This  equilibrium  of  material  forces  is  finally  changed 
in  the  nineteenth  century  into  a  European  concert. 
Europe  gives  to  the  world,  for  the  first  time,  the  spec- 
tacle of  a  family  of  states,  so  closely  bound  together 
that  they  are  only  different  members  of  the  same  body. 
No  longer  united  by  material  ties  alone,  they  are  already 
bound  by  spiritual  ties.  From  the  depths  of  Russia  to 
the  ends  of  England,  from  Sicily  to  Cape  North,  we 
find  the  same  religion  at  the  basis  of  the  social  condition 
of  all  nations.  The  old  ideas  are  a  common  property ; 
new  ideas  speed  almost  through  this  whole  space  with 
the  rapidity  of  thought,  and  reach,  at  the  same  time, 
the  understandings  of  all.  The  manners,  customs,  sen- 
timents, become  every  day  more  alike ;  in  all  things, 
community  and  intimacy  are  closer  and  closer.  Nothing 
that  touches  the  smallest,  the  most  remote  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  great  confederacy  remains  foreign  or  indiffer- 
ent to  the  whole. 

And  yet  the  assimilation  of  the  people  of  Europe  stops 
far  short  of  confounding  their  distinctive  qualities.  Not 
long  since,  the  world  saw  them,  with  some  surprise 
perhaps,  piotesting  against  the  complete  fusion  seem- 
ingly about  to  annihilate  their  individual  existence,  and 
threatening  to  carry  them  back  to  the  chaos  of  a  homo- 
geneous unity.  They  have  once  again  proclaimed  the 
power  of  historical  ties,  uniting  the  offspring  of  the  same 
people,  like  friends  of  childhood,  by  a  long  community 
of  life,  and  the  vitality  of  those  elements  of  race  which 
bear  witness  to  the  original  diversity  of  the  gifts  the 
Creator  has  bestowed  upon  his  children.  Each  of 
the  great  physical  districts  composing  that  continent,  in 
27 


314  comparative;  physical  geography. 

reality  sustains  a  people  whose  moral  and  intellectual 
character,  aptitudes,  talents,  differ  as  much  as  their 
language  from  those  of  their  brethren.  Each  of  these 
nations  plays,  in  the  great  drama  of  history,  a  special 
part  in  accordance  with  its  particular  gifts,  and  all 
together  form,  in  truth  and  reality,  one  of  those  rich 
organic  unities  which  we  have  recognized  as  being  the 
natural  result  of  all  regular  and  healthy  growth. 

This  variety  of  elements  and  their  reciprocal  influ- 
ence, joined  to  the  community  of  action,  which  is  the 
distinctive  feature  of  modern  society,  exalt  the  powers 
of  man  to  a  degree  hitherto  unknown.  Christian 
Europe  beholds  poetry,  the  arts,  and  the  sublimest 
sciences,  successively  flourish,  as  in  the  bright  days  of 
pagan  Greece ;  but,  enriched  already  with  the  spoils  of 
the  past,  culture  is  far  more  comprehensive,  more  varied, 
more  profound;  for  it  is  not  only  affluent  with  the  wealth 
of  days  gone  by,  but  Christianity  has  placed  it  on  the 
solid  foundation  of  truth.  The  spirit  of  investigation 
ranges  in  all  directions ;  it  adds  to  this  brilliant  crown 
a  new  gem,  the  science  of  nature,  growing  with  a 
speed  of  which  the  Ancient  World  had  not  even  a  fore- 
cast. Unriddled  by  the  spirit  of  man,  nature  has  yielded 
lip  to  him  her  secrets ;  her  untiring  forces  are  enlisted 
in  the  service  of  intellect,  which  knows  how  to  guide 
their  action  for  its  own  purposes.  Who  shall  describe 
those  thousand  applications  of  the  science  of  nature, 
those  inventions  of  the  arts,  each  more  marvellous  than 
the  others,  coming  upon  us  with  a  daily  surprise  ;  those 
ingenious  and  mighty  machines  obeying  without  pause 
he  orders  of  man,  and  under  his  watchful  eye  accom- 


SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIAN  CIVILIZATION.  315 

plishing,  Avith  the  same  ease,  the  most  gigantic  works 
and  the  most  delicate  operations  ?  The  ocean  has  lost 
its  terrors;  with  the  help  of  steam  the  sailor  braves 
opposing  winds  and  waves;  the  compass  and  the  stars 
conduct  him  with  unerring  precision  to  the  end  of  his 
voyage.  Space  is  annihilated  by  railroads ;  the  word 
of  man,  borne  on  the  wings  of  electricity,  outruns  in  its 
course  the  sun  himself;  distances  vanish,  obstacles  are 
smoothed  away.  Man  thus  disposes  at  will  with  the 
forces  of  nature,  and  the  earth  at  last  serves  her  master. 

Such  is  the  spectacle  presented  by  European  civil- 
ization. Looking  upon  it  only  under  this  brilliant 
aspect,  and  in  itself,  the  progress  of  man  seems  to  be 
almost  touching  its  final  goal.  Nevertheless,  the  plan 
traced  by  the  Divine  Founder  of  the  Christian  church 
is  much  more  vast ;  the  goal  which  He  sets  up  is  much 
higher.  These  precious  gifts  of  culture  are  not  to 
remain  the  exclusive  property  of  a  small  number  of 
privileged  men,  nor  of  a  single  society,  of  one  continent 
alone  ;  the  Christian  principle  is  broader  ;  it  is  universal, 
like  the  love  of  Christ.  An  important  work  remains, 
then,  to  be  done  ;  the  work  of  diffusion  and  of  propaga- 
tion. This  work  is  two-fold ;  for  it  is  a  duty  to  extend 
to  the  greatest  possible  number  of  the  members  of  the 
same  community  all  the  blessings  of  civilization,  at  the 
same  time  that  it  is  a  duty  to  help  all  the  nations  of  the 
3arth  to  enjoy  them.  The  first  is  social;  the  second 
pertains  to  humanity  in  general.  To  bring  them  both 
about,  European  society  must  overpass  its  present  boun- 
daries. 

Just  as  Greece,  the  model  on  a  small  scale  of  what  all 


316  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

Europe  becomes  on  a  large  scale,  imparted  to  the  East 
and  to  Rome  the  civilization  which  was  the  fruit  of  her 
whole  popular  life,  so  Europe  owes  to  the  world  both 
her  sciences  and  her  culture,  and  the  gospel,  her  most 
priceless  good.  The  realm  of  civilization,  which  has 
been  gradually  enlarging,  must  increase  still  further ;  it 
must  have  no  other  limits  than  those  of  the  great  globe 
itself. 

All  was  prepared  in  nature  and  history  to  invite  the 
society  of  Europe  to  take  this  glorious  initiative,  and  to 
facilitate  the  task. 

The  position  of  the  European  continent,  in  the  midst 
of  the  other  continents,  seems  to  destine  it  from  the 
beginning  to  this  important  part;  its  situation  on  the 
shores  of  the  ocean  opens  an  easy  access  to  the  remotest 
countries. 

The  ocean  is,  in  fact,  gentlemen,  the  grand  highway 
of  the  world ;  from  the  earliest  ages  the  civilized  nations, 
urged  by  a  secret  instinct  of  their  coming  destinies, 
seem  tending  unconsciously  to  gather  themselves  near 
its  shores.  Born  on  the  banks  of  the  great  rivers  of  the 
East,  they  cluster  afterwards  round  the  Mediterranean, 
under  the  sway  of  Greece  and  Rome.  The  modern 
world  exchanges  this  theatre,  henceforth  too  narrow, 
for  the  basin  of  the  oceans,  and  our  ships  sail  over  the 
vast  expanse  of  waters  with  more  ease  and  security 
than  the  triremes  of  Greece  and  Rome  crossed  their 
inland  seas. 

The  progress  made  by  man  in  Europe  also  renders 
him  capable  of  undertaking  this  work.  In  that  conti- 
nent, so  tractable  in  shape,  so  well  made,  so  nicely 


SPREAD  OF   CHRISTIAN  CIVILIZATION.  317 

adjusted  to  his  forces,  he  has  learned  to  subdue  nature 
by  intelligence,  and  has  thrown  off  the  yoke.  The 
child  of  the  East  has  become  a  man  in  the  land  of  the 
West.  Thus  no  obstacle  dismays  or  arrests  him ;  he 
sets  forth,  and,  like  the  Rome  of  other  days,  the  Europe 
of  the  present  marches  to  the  conquest  of  the  world  less 
by  arms  than  by  her  colonists,  her  commerce,  her  civil- 
ization, and  by  the  gospel,  which  she  carries  to  all 
nations. 

The  first  land  her  ships  encounter  is  the  New  World, 
waiting,  as  we  have  seen,  only  for  the  active  labors 
of  the  civilized  races,  to  yield  up  to  them  all  the  treas- 
ures that  lay  unused  in  its  bosom.  The  European 
nations  bordering  the  Atlantic  establish  themselves  there, 
and  divide  it  among  them.  In  North  America,  the 
people  of  the  North  of  Europe  —  the  Anglo-Saxons,  the 
Germans,  the  French ;  in  South  America,  the  Spanish 
and  the  Portuguese.  The  contrast  between  the  North 
and  South,  mitigated  in  the  temperate  regions  of  the 
mother  country,  is  reproduced  in  the  New  World  more 
strongly  marked,  and  on  a  grander  scale,  between  North 
America,  with  its  temperate  climate,  its  Protestant  and 
progressive  people,  and  South  America,  with  its  tropical 
climate,  its  Catholic  and  stationary  inhabitants.  The 
conquest  of  the  New  World  was  the  fairest  and  the  most 
useful  the  European  communities  could  have  made, 
both  for  themselves  and  for  the  accomplishment  of  their 
work.  They  are  transported  thither  with  all  their 
means  of  action ;  they  get  the  mastery  of  nature  with- 
out exhausting  efforts ;  they  strike  their  roots  deep  in  a 
receptive  soil  almost  untenanted ;  and  America,  while 
27* 


318  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

preparing  to  make  new  advances  in  social  science,  is 
already  laboring  in  concert  with  Europe  for  the  civil- 
ization of  the  world,  which  will  not  be  completed  with- 
out her. 

But  Europe  stops  not  here.  The  ocean  still  opens 
to  her  the  way  to  the  maritime  countries,  the  most 
highly  favored  regions  in  every  continent.  Africa  and 
Australia  receive  her  colonists,  who  plant  in  that  soil, 
rebellious  to  civilization,  the  habits  and  the  manners  of 
our  communities ;  Asia  herself,  old  and  immovable  Asia, 
the  symbol  of  stability,  is  shaken  to  her  very  founda- 
tions. India  beholds  her  political  power  crushed  under 
the  arms  and  by  the  skill  of  England,  while  Christianity 
and  the  light  of  knowledge  undermine  the  ancient  Brah- 
min edifice,  threatening  every  day  to  bury  beneath  its 
ruins  that  Old  World  which  has  survived  more  than 
three  thousand  years.  China,  in  her  turn,  is  forced  to 
open  her  gates,  and  the  ideas  of  Christianity  and  civili- 
zation, together  with  the  products  of  European  industry, 
are  piercing,  little  by  little,  into  that  old  sanctuary  of 
superstition.  Finally,  there  is  not,  in  the  bosom  of  the 
oceans,  an  island  so  distant  but  that,  with  the  visits  of 
the  ships  from  Christian  lands,  it  receives  some  germs  of 
future  improvement.  The  work  is  everywhere  pre- 
paring, or  beginning  to  bear  fruit ;  and  instead  of  one 
of  those  invasions  of  barbarous  hordes,  which  so  often 
terrified  the  world,  plunging  it  again,  for  whole  centu- 
ries, into  the  darkness  x>f  ignorance,  Ave  gaze  upon  the 
magnificent  and  consoling  spectacle  of  a  peaceful  but 
irresistible  march  of  civilization,  and  of  the  light  of 
knowledge  to  the  conquest  of  the  whole  earth, 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENT. 


319 


Certainly  these  are  admirable  beginnings,  the  har- 
bingers of  a  still  more  brilliant  future.  But  here  is 
only  a  part  of  the  work  the  Christian  nations  of 
modern  Europe  appear  summoned  to  execute.  To  this 
spread  of  the  blessings  of  civilization  abroad,  ought  to 
correspond,  as  we  have  said,  a  work  of  diffusion  within 
civilized  society  itself;  to  the  humanitary  work,  a  social 
work.  The  greatest  possible  number  of  the  members, — 
all,  if  it  may  be,  —  each,  according  to  the  measure  of  his 
gifts  and  the  position  assigned  him  by  Providence,  ought 
to  share  in  the  well-being,  in  the  light  of  knowledge,  in 
the  moral  perfection,  which  are  now  the  portion  of  but 
a  few.  These  advantages  should,  at  least,  be  placed 
within  the  reach  of  all  those,  who,  by  a  wise  activity, 
the  first  condition  of  all  progress,  render  themselves 
worthy  to  receive  such  reward. 

This  progress,  whereto  at  present  all  civilized  society 
aspires,  —  this  goal,  towards  which  it  is  tending,  instinc- 
tively urged  on  by  the  very  principle  that  constitutes  its 
life, — is  shown,  as  from  afar,  by  that  beautiful  formula, 
drawn  from  the  gospel,  but  so  shamefully  perverted  by 
the  false  friends  of  progress,  that  one  hardly  dares 
repeat  it  after  them ;  it  is  proclaimed  in  words  that  are 
the  motto  of  the  present  age  —  Liberty,  Equality,  Fra 
lernity.  Yes,  gentlemen,  liberty  to  unfold  all  the  living 
forces,  and  all  the  good  tendencies  of  man,  but  not  his 
evil  tendencies ;  the  equality  of  rights  lying  in  the  moral 
nature  of  man,  but  not  that  absolute,  impossible  equality 
which  is  contrary  to  nature  and  the  course  of  Provi- 
dence, and  annihilates  all  progress ;  that  fraternity 
which  is  the  law  of  the  gospel,  and  substitutes,  for  the 


320 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


selfishness  that  isolates  and  kills,  the  fraternal  love  and 
devotion  that  unites  and  makes  alive ;  a  free  people,  a 
people  of  brethren ;  unobstructed  individual  growth, 
attended  by  all  the  advantages  of  social  life ;  diversity 
in  unity,  —  this  is  the  dream  of  the  existing  world,  this 
is  the  prayer  expressed  under  every  variety  of  form.  I 
say  the  dream  of  the  existing  world;  for  the  perfect 
realization  of  such  an  ideal  is  possible  only  in  perfect 
obedience  to  the  divine  law,  in  absolute  goodness.  In 
this  earthly  state,  man,  the  sinner,  must  content  himself 
with  tending  towards  it,  and  drawing  nearer  every  day. 

Europe,  gentlemen,  has  conceived  the  idea,  and  com- 
menced the  execution  of  the  work.  If  we  cast  a  glance 
back  upon  the  phases  of  her  progress,  we  see  that  each 
step  she  has  taken  in  culture  is  at  the  same  time  marked 
by  an  amelioration  in  the  state  of  the  lower  classes  of 
society.  From  epoch  to  epoch,  instruction  and  well- 
being  become  more  and  more  universal.  But  historical 
ties  of  every  kind,  ancient  customs,  acquired  rights,  as 
much  to  be  respected  as  any  other  rights  of  man,  and, 
above  all,  the  want  of  resources  and  of  room  for  an 
ever-increasing  population,  are  almost  insurmountable 
difficulties,  seeming  to  indicate  that  the  work  begun 
upon  her  soil  is  to  be  finished  elsewhere.  In  Europe, 
the  present  must  take  the  past  into  account,  and  in  her 
past,  Europe  has  roots  too  deeply  fixed  to  adapt  herself 
readily  to  all  the  exigencies  of  a  new  principle.  Cut  off 
the  roots  of  this  tree,  ancient,  but  still  majestic,  still 
flowing  with  sap,  and  you  take  away  its  life.  Cat  from 
it  a  shoot,  set  that  shoot  in  a  fresh  and  virgin  soil,  and  a 
new  tree,  at  once  strong  and  flexible,  will  readily  take 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  FUTURE. 


321 


whatever  form  the  skilful  gardener  shall  desire  to  give  it. 
Is  not  this  what  has  been  done  for  modern  society  by 
Him  who  dresses  the  great  garden  of  humanity  ? 

Yes,  gentlemen,  a  new  work  is  preparing,  and  a  grave 
question  is  propounded.  To  what  people  shall  it  belong 
to  carry  out  this  work  into  reality  ?  The  law  of  history 
replies,  to  a  new  people.  And  to  what  continent  ?  The 
geographical  march  of  civilization  tells  us,  to  a  new  con- 
tinent west  of  the  Old  World  —  to  America. 

This  conclusion  may  seem  a  bold  one ;  for  the  future 
is  still  covered  by  a  veil  it  were  unwise  to  wish  to 
lift.  Nevertheless,  many  signs  seem  to  authorize  this 
anticipation.  It  is  worth  the  trouble  of  marking  their 
existence,  and  of  seeking  to  understand  their  language. 

What  is  that  new  people,  forming  and  growing  upon 
the  land  of  the  future  ? 

Is  it  a  new  race  ?  No ;  for  the  ties  of  race  imposed  by 
physical  nature  must  disappear  in  that  world  of  eman- 
cipation and  of  liberty,  to  leave  all  its  spontaneous 
character  to  the  activity  of  man. 

Is  it  some  particular  nation  of  the  Old  World  ?  No ; 
for  if  one  people  seems  to  stamp  the  physiognomy,  yet 
the  historical  nations  of  every  language  and  of  every 
character  are  flowing  thither,  and  blending  together  in 
one  and  the  same  nationality.  The  historical  walls  of 
separation  in  the  Old  World  have  fallen  at  once,  and 
without  a  struggle.  The  European,  who  sets  foot  on 
American  ground,  with  the  purpose  of  making  it  his 
country,  throws  aside,  at  the  threshold,  not  his  affections 
and  his  memories,  but  his  social  and  political  past  —  if 
I  may  say  it,  takes  a  fresh  start,  recommences  a  new 


322  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

existence.  He  is  received,  by  those  who  have  gone 
thither  before  him,  as  a  brother,  entitled  to  the  same 
immunities  they  are  themselves  enjoying.  The  most 
varied  elements  are  gathering  and  harmonizing  in  this 
American  people,  which  is  moulding  itself  as  no  other 
ever  did  before,  and  which,  more  than  any  other  people, 
is  preeminently  the  cosmopolite,  by  virtue  of  its  very 
constitution. 

And  what  is  the  vital  principle  we  find  at  the  very 
root  of  this  nation  ?  It  is  the  gospel.  Not  the  gospel 
disfigured  and  cramped  by  the  iron  fetters  of  a  power- 
ful hierarchical  church,  like  that  the  Christian  Ger- 
manic world  received  while  in  its  cradle,  but  the  gos- 
pel restored  by  the  Reformation,  with  its  life-giving 
doctrines,  and  its  regenerative  power.  Luther  drew 
the  Bible  forth  from  the  dust  of  libraries,  where  it  lay 
forgotten,  at  the  moment  when  Columbus  discovered  the 
New  World.  Will  any  one  believe  that  here  was  only 
an  accidental  coincidence  ?  More  than  this,  gentlemen  ; 
for  the  first  foundations  were  then  laid  of  the  edifice 
rising  at  the  present  day  before  our  eyes,  the  actual 
construction  of  which,  three  centuries  and  a  half  later, 
enables  us  to  see  the  providential  connection  of  the  two 
events. 

The  founders  of  social  order  in  America  are  indeed 
the  true  offspring  of  the  Reformation,  —  true  Protestants. 
The  Bible  is  their  code.  Imbued  with  the  principles 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty  they  find  written  in  the 
gospel,  and  for  which  they  have  given  up  their  former 
country,  they  put  them  in  practice  in  this  land  of  their 
choice.    They  are  all  brethren,  children  of  the  same 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  FUTURE. 


323 


Father  —  this  is  equality,  independence,  liberty.  They 
submit  from  the  heart  to  their  Divine  Leader,  and  to  his 
law ;  this  is  the  principle  of  order.  Now  the  union  of 
these  two  terms  is  free  obedience  to  the  divine  will, 
which  is  the  condition  of  a  normal  development,  the 
supreme  end  of  the  education  of  man. 

These,  you  will  agree,  gentlemen,  are  the  sublime 
doctrines  whence  flow  the  religious,  political,  and  social 
forms  that  distinguish  America  at  the  present  time,  from 
all  the  other  countries  on  the  globe.  In  religion,  as  in 
politics,  democracy ;  the  principle  of  free  association  per- 
vading every  part  of  public  and  private  life ;  the  pre- 
ponderance of  the  judicial  element  set  above  the  state 
itself,  as  the  divine  law  is  placed  above  human  liberty ; 
free  obedience  to  the  law,  finally,  rendering  the  means 
of  constraint  almost  superfluous,  and  guaranteeing  at 
once  both  security  and  liberty ;  —  these  are  so  many 
Christian  ideas  that  have  been  incorporated  in  society, 
so  many  blessings  America  will  continue  to  enjoy  in 
proportion  as  she  shall  be  faithful  to  the  great  principles 
whence  they  emanate. 

A  last  characteristic,  finally,  of  the  nation  forming 
on  the  soil  of  America,  — ■  upon  which  we  fix  our  atten- 
tion, because  it  furnishes  in  fact  the  representative 
of  all  modern  progress,  —  is  the  greater  emancipation 
from  the  dominion  of  nature.  European  society  is 
transported  to  the  New  World,  with  all  the  power  of 
modern  arts  and  industry,  which  it  applies  without  let 
or  hindrance  upon  a  large  scale.  Man,  the  master,  now 
explores  its  vast  territory.  A  perpetual  movement,  a 
fever  of  locomotion,  rages  from  one  end  of  the  continent 


324  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

to  the  other.  The  American  uses  things  without  allow- 
ing himself  to  be  taken  captive  by  them.  We  behold 
everywhere  the  free  will  of  man  overmastering  nature, 
which  has  lost  the  power  of  stamping  him  with  a  local 
character,  of  separating  the  nation  into  distinct  peoples. 
Local  country,  which  had  so  great  sway  in  the  Old 
World,  no  longer  exists,  so  to  speak,  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  city,  itself  an  association  determined  by  man's  free 
will,  and  not  by  the  force  of  external  nature.  The  great 
social  country  wins  all  interest,  and  all  affection ;  it 
overmatches  entirely  geographical  country. 

Such  are  the  principal  lineaments  that  give  to  this 
people  a  character  peculiarly  their  own.  By  these  feat- 
ures we  recognize  the  people  of  the  future ;  for  all 
the  tendencies,  struggling  hard  to  find  a  vent  in  Euro- 
pean society,  are  realized  without  effort  here,  because 
they  are  the  very  foundations  whereon  all  the  social 
relations  rest.  It  is  to  this  people,  then,  that  the  full 
and  entire  development  belongs  in  the  course  of  the 
epoch  now  beginning. 

And  what  continent  is  better  adapted  than  the  Ameri- 
can, to  respond  to  the  wants  of  humanity  in  this  phase 
of  its  history  ? 

The  nations  of  Europe  might  easily  be  drawn  out 
and  arrayed  within  its  vast  confines.  Its  fertile  soil 
secures  prosperity  to  all,  in  exchange  for  their  labor.  Its 
forests,  its  treasures  of  coal  laid  up  in  quantities  surpass- 
ing everything  of  the  kind  to  be  found  in  any  part  of 
the  globe,  prepare  an  inexhaustible  support,  and  allow  a 
future  extension  of  industry  to  a  degree  and  in  propor- 
tions unknown  elsewhere. 


AMERICA   THE  SOCIAL  WORLD. 


325 


The  simplicity  and  unity  of  plan  we  have  observed 
m  its  configuration,  its  extensive  plains,  navigable 
rivers,  the  extreme  facility  of  communications  uni- 
versally, with  no  serious  obstacle  lying  in  the  way, 
from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  fruitful  part  of  the  con- 
tinent, all  invite  the  inhabitants  to  frequent  connection, 
to  never-ceasing  intercourse  and  exchange,  checking 
the  formation  of  local  nationalities,  and  favoring  the 
maintenance  of  a  national  unity,  by  the  assimilation  of 
all  the  parts. 

Thus  we  may,  perhaps,  foresee  that  the  American 
Union,  already  the  most  numerous  association  of  men 
that  has  ever  existed  voluntarily  united  under  the  same 
law,  will  be  able  hereafter  to  become,  even  within  the 
limits  of  its  present  confines,  a  true  social  world,  tran- 
scending in  grandeur  and  unity  the  most  impressive 
spectacles  of  human  greatness  the  history  of  past  ages 
holds  up  to  our  view. 

Finally,  the  oceanic  position  of  the  American  conti- 
nent secures  its  commercial  prosperity,  and  creates,  at 
the  same  time,  the  means  of  influence  upon  the  world. 
It  commands  the  Atlantic  by  its  ports,  while  Oregon  and 
California  open  the  route  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the 
East.  America,  also,  is  so  placed  as  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  great  work  of  the  civilization  of  the  world,  so 
admirably  begun  by  Europe. 

As  Greece,  then,  gave  the  ancient  world  instruction 
and  culture,  so  Europe  instructs  and  refines  the  modern 
world,  and  all  mankind;  and  as  Rome  wrought  out  the 
social  work  of  antiquity,  America  seems  called  to  do  the 
same  service  for  modern  times,  and  to  build  up  in  the 
28 


326 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


New  World  the  social  state  of  which  the  Old  World 

dreamed. 

But  while  Rome  accomplished  her  task  by  brute 
force,  made  a  mere  outside  work,  and  brought  about 
only  an  imperfect  fusion  of  the  nations,  America  is  doing 
hers  by  persuasion.  Drawing  to  her  the  free  will  of  the 
sons  of  all  the  races,  she  binds  them  by  one  faith,  and  is 
thus  preparing  a  true  brotherhood  of  man.  The  one  had 
only  gross  material  arms ;  the  other  has  spiritual  arms. 
Between  the  two  lies  the  whole  distance  that  separates 
the  heathen  from  the  Christian  world,  and  the  progress 
made  during  two  thousand  years. 

And  further,  what  is  there  in  common  between  this 
new  social  world  of  America  and  that  world  dreamed  of 
by  the  morbid  imagination  of  frantic  Utopians,  who, 
denying  Christianity  and  its  saving  doctrines,  renounce 
the  vital  principle  of  modern  societies ;  who  talk  of 
progress,  but  fetter  individual  liberty,  which  is  its 
sinew;  of  fraternity,  as  if  man  without  God  did  not 
always  relapse  into  selfishness  ;  and  show,  finally,  by 
their  abortive  attempts,  both  the  corruption  of  the  heart 
of  man,  and  his  inability  to  do  the  work  of  reconstruct- 
ing society,  which  Divine  Providence;  in  its  wisdom,  has 
reserved  to  itself? 

The  new  society  ought  to  receive  entire  the  inheri- 
tance of  those  which  have  gone  before ;  for  nothing  good 
or  beautiful  should  perish.  It  ought  to  be  rooted  in 
that  living  faith  which  nourishes  the  nations  and  keeps 
up  in  them  the  freshness  of  life ;  its  instruments 
should  be  the  sciences  and  industry ;  its  ornaments, 
literature  and  the  fine  arts ;  its  end,  the  happiness  of 


AMERICA  THE  SOCIAL  WORLD. 


327 


all,  by  training  them  up  to  moral  perfection,  and  by- 
spreading  the  gospel  throughout  the  world,  to  the  glory 
of  the  Redeemer. 

You  see,  gentlemen,  this  picture  transports  us  into 
the  future.  There  stands  the  goal,  and  we  are  only 
now  at  the  starting  point.  But  this  lofty  goal  may 
serve  as  a  guiding  star  for  the  present,  to  preserve  it 
from  losing  its  way.  In  what  measure  and  through 
what  perils  it  shall  be  given  to  mankind,  and  to  America 
in  particular,  to  attain  it,  is  known  to  God  alone,  and 
future  ages  will  teach  the  issue  to  the  world ;  but  what 
we  do  know  is,  that  it  will  be  in  proportion  as  man  shall 
be  faithful  to  the  law  of  his  moral  nature,  which  is  the 
divine  law  itself. 

Asia,  Europe,  and  North  America,  are  the  three 
grand  stages  of  humanity  in  its  march  through  the 
ages.  Asia  is  the  cradle  where  man  passed  his  infancy, 
under  the  authority  of  law,  and  where  he  learned  his 
dependence  upon  a  sovereign  master.  Europe  is  the 
school  where  his  youth  was  trained,  where  he  waxed  in 
strength  and  knowledge,  grew  to  manhood,  and  learned 
at  once  his  liberty  and  his  moral  responsibility.  Amer- 
ica is  the  theatre  of  his  activity  during  the  period  of 
manhood ;  the  land  where  he  applies  and  practises  all 
he  has  learned,  brings  into  action  all  the  forces  he  has 
acquired,  and  where  he  is  still  to  learn  that  the  entire 
development  of  his  being  and  his  own  happiness  are 
possible  only  by  willing  obedience  to  the  laws  of  his 
Maker. 

-  Thus  lives  and  prospers,  under  the  protection  of  the 
Divine  Husbandman,  the  great  tree  of  humanity,  Avhich 


328  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

is  to  overshadow  the  whole  earth.  It  germinates  and 
sends  up  its  strong  trunk  in  the  ancient  land  of  Asia. 
Grafted  with  a  nobler  stalk,  it  shoots  out  new  branches, 
it  biossoms  in  Europe.  In  America  only,  it  seems  des- 
tined to  bear  all  its  fruits.  In  these  three  we  behold  at 
once,  as  in  a  vast  picture,  the  past,  the  present,  and  the 
future. 

We  see,  then,  that  at  each  great  phasis  of  the  history 
of  humanity  the  real  work  of  the  epoch  is  accomplished 
on  a  different  theatre,  and  the  centre  or  principal  nucleus 
of  civilized  societies  changes  its  place  in  the  course  of  the 
ages.  But  in  pointing  out  the  remarkable  fact  of  this 
successive  displacement,  let  us  not  forget  to  state  at  the 
same  time  another  movement,  a  progressive  movement 
of  extension,  no  less  evident,  and  of  almost  equal  impor- 
tance. At  first  we  behold  the  Orient  shine  alone ;  but 
soon  the  Occident  ascends,  and  assumes  the  sceptre  of 
intellectual  light,  and  Greece  now  draws  with  her  into  a 
new  progress  the  better  portion  of  the  East.  Rome  suc- 
ceeds, and  by  her  conquests  removes  the  boundaries 
of  the  civilized  world,  whereof  Italy  is  the  soul,  to  the 
uttermost  limits  of  the  West.  The  North  in  succession  is 
added,  and  all  Europe  becomes  in  turn  the  centre  of  a 
new  world,  which  breaks  the  barriers  seemingly  imposed 
on  it  by  nature,  to  enlarge  and  expand  itself  beyond  the 
oceans.  The  establishment  of  European  civilization  in 
the  New  World,  which  has  more  than  doubled  the  terri- 
torial extent  of  the  cultivated  nations,  prepares  an  epoch 
of  aggrandizement  more  rapid  still.  The  two  Americas, 
situated  between  the  other  four  continents,  seem  destined 
to  become,  in  their  turn,  a  new  centre  of  action,  or  a 


CONCLUSION. 


329 


point  of  support  for  the  establishment  of  easy  and  more 
rapid  relations  with  all  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  the 
irresistible  logic  of  facts  passing  under  our  eyes,  compels 
us  to  believe  that  during  the  epoch  which  is  preparing, 
the  boundaries  of  the  domain  of  the  civilized  world  can 
only  be  those  of  the  globe  itself. 

Before  closing  let  us  cast  back  a  glance  upon  the 
long  way  we  have  travelled  over.  The  geographical 
march  of  history  must  have  convinced  us,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken, — 

1.  That  the  three  continents  of  the  North  are  organ  - 
ized for  the  development  of  man,  and  that  we  may 
rightfully  name  them  preeminently  the  historical  con- 
tinents. 

2.  That  each  of  these  three  continents,  by  virtue  of  its 
very  structure,  and  of  its  physical  qualities,  has  a  special 
function  in  the  education  of  mankind,  and  corresponds 
to  one  of  the  periods  of  his  development. 

3.  That  in  proportion  as  this  development  advances, 
and  civilization  is  perfected,  and  gains  in  intensity,  the 
physical  domain  it  occupies  gains  in  extent  and  the 
number  of  cultivated  nations  increases. 

4.  That  the  entire  physical  creation  corresponds  to 
the  moral  creation,  and  is  only  to  be  explained  by  it. 

Such,  it  seems,  is  the  result  of  the  study  we  have 
been  making,  of  the  relations  between  nature  and 
history.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  without  some  surprise,  that 
we  behold  privileged  continents  and  races,  continents  and 
races  almost  unalterably  smitten  with  a  character  of 
inferiority.  And  yet,  why  be  surprised  at  this  ?  Is  it 
not  the  attribute  of  God  to  dispense  his  gifts  to  whom  he 
28* 


330 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


will,  and  as  he  will  1  Do  we  not  know  that  in  every 
organism  there  are  needed  divers  members,  clothed  with 
functions  more  or  less  exalted,  but  alike  necessary) 
We  shall  see  that  this  great  contrast  of  the  historical 
continents  and  the  continents  of  the  inferior  races  seems 
established  by  Providence  as  a  standing  invitation  ad- 
dressed to  man,  bidding  him  unfold  a  new  activity,  and 
exercise  the  virtue  of  self-devotion,  one  of  the  highest  to 
which  his  moral  nature  can  be  called.  For  the  law  of 
contrasts  in  the  order  of  nature  is  the  law  of  love  in  the 
moral  order. 

The  three  continents  of  the  South,  outcasts  in  appear- 
ance,— can  they  have  been  destined  to  an  eternal 
isolation,  doomed  never  to  participate  in  that  higher  life 
of  humanity,  the  sketch  of  which  we  have  traced? 
And  shall  those  gifts  nature  bestows  on  them  with 
lavish  hand,  remain  unused?  No.  gentlemen,  such  a 
doom  cannot  be  in  the  plans  of  God.  But  the  races 
inhabiting  them  are  captives  in  the  bonds  of  all  power- 
ful nature ;  they  will  never  break  down  the  fences  that 
sunder  them  from  us.  It  is  for  us,  the  favored  races,  to 
go  to  them.  Tropical  nature  cannot  be  conquered  and 
subdued,  save  by  civilized  men,  armed  with  all  the 
might  of  discipline,  intelligence,  and  of  skilful  industry. 
It  is,  then,  from  the  northern  continents  that  those  of  the 
south  await  their  deliverance ;  it  is  by  the  help  of  the 
civilized  men  of  the  temperate  continents  that  it  shall  be 
vouchsafed  to  the  man  of  the  tropical  lands  to  enter  into 
the  movement  of  universal  progress  and  improvement, 
wherein  mankind  should  share. 

The  privileged  races  have  duties  to  perform,  pro- 


SOLUTION  OF  THE  CONTRAST. 


331 


portioned  to  the  gifts  they  possess.  To  impart  to 
other  nations  the  advantages  constituting  their  own 
glory,  is  the  only  way  of  legitimating  the  possession  of 
them.  We  owe  to  the  inferior  races  the  blessings  and 
the  comforts  of  civilization;  we  owe  them  the  intel- 
lectual development  they  are  capable  of;  above  all. 
we  owe  them  the  gospel,  which  is  our  glory,  and 
will  be  their  salvation ;  and  if  we  neglect  to  help  them 
partake  in  all  these  blessings,  God  will  some  time  call  us 
to  a  strict  account. 

In  this  way,  alone,  will  the  inferior  races  be  able 
to  come  forth  from  the  state  of  torpor  and  debasement 
wherein  they  are  plunged,  and  live  the  active  life  of  the 
higher  races.  Then  shall  commence,  or  rather  shall 
rise  to  its  just  proportions,  the  elaboration  of  the  material 
wealth  of  the  tropical  regions,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
whole  world.  The  nations  of  the  lower  races,  associ- 
ated like  brothers  with  the  civilized  man  of  the  ancient 
Christian  societies,  and  directed  by  his  intelligent  activ- 
ity, will  be  the  chief  instruments.  The  whole  world, 
so  turned  to  use  by  man,  will  fulfil  its  destiny. 

The  three  northern  continents,  however,  seem  made 
to  be  the  leaders ;  the  three  southern,  the  aids.  The 
people  of  the  temperate  continents  will  always  be  the 
men  of  intelligence,  of  activity,  the  brain  of  humanity, 
if  I  may  venture  to  say  so ;  the  people  of  the  tropical 
continents  will  always  be  the  hands,  the  workmen,  the 
sons  of  toil. 

History  seems  to  be  advancing  towards  the  realization 
of  these  hopes,  towards  the  solution  of  this  great  con- 
trast.   Each  northern  continent  has  its  southern  conti- 


332 


COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


nent  near  by,  which  seems  more  especially  commended 
to  its  guardianship  and  placed  under  its  influence. 
Africa  is  already  European  at  both  extremities  ; 
North  America  leans  on  South  America,  which  is  in- 
debted to  the  example  of  the  North  for  its  own  emanci- 
pation and  its  own  institutions.  Asia  is  gradually 
receiving  into  her  bosom  the  Christian  nations  of 
Europe,  who  are  transforming  her  character,  and  be- 
ginning thence  to  settle  the  destinies  of  Australia. 
Lastly,  the  Christian  missions  are  organizing  upon  a 
larger  and  larger  scale  in  the  two  leading  maritime 
countries  of  the  globe,  England  and  America,  to  whom 
the  dominion  of  the  sea  seems  granted  for  this  end ;  and 
by  engrafting  upon  all  the  nations  the  vital  principle  of 
civilized  societies,  without  which  no  real  community 
can  exist  between  them,  are  preparing  and  hastening  the 
true  brotherhood,  the  spiritual  brotherhood,  of  the  whole 
human  race. 

It  is  in  this  great  union,  foretold  alike  by  the  order  of 
nature  and  by  the  gospel,  that  every  continent,  as  well 
as  every  people,  will  have  its  special  functions,  and 
that  we  shall  find  the  solution  and  the  definitive  aim 
of  all  the  physical  and  historical  contrasts  we  have 
been  studying.  Everything  in  nature  is  arranged  for 
the  accomplishment  by  man  of  the  admirable  designs  of 
Providence  for  the  triumph  of  the  good ;  and  if  man 
were  faithful  to  his  destination,  the  whole  world  would 
appear  as  a  sublime  concert  of  nature  and  the  nations, 
blending  their  voices  into  a  lofty  harmony  in  praise  of 
the  Creator. 

We  are  touching  upon  the  close  of  our  course  ;  we 


FAITH  AND  SCIENCE. 


333 


are  far  distant,  indeed,  from  the  point  whence  we  started. 
Nevertheless,  we  have  arrived  hither,  I  believe,  by  a 
natural  and  regular  path.  Before  we  separate,  gentle- 
men, allow  me  to  add  a  few  words  upon  the  spirit  and 
method  that  have  animated  and  directed  our  studies. 

All  is  life  for  him  who  is  alive ;  all  is  death  for  him 
who  is  dead.  All  is  spirit  for  him  who  is  spirit ;  all  is 
matter  for  him  who  is  nothing  but  matter.  It  is  with 
the  whole  life  and  the  whole  intellect  that  we  should 
study  the  work  of  Him  Avho  is  life  and  intellect  itself. 

This  work  of  the  Supreme  Intelligence— can  it  be 
otherwise  than  intelligent  ?  The  work  of  Him  who 
is  all  life  and  all  love — must  it  not  be  living  and  full  of 
love  ? 

How  should  we  not  find  in  our  earth  itself  the  realiza- 
tion of  an  intelligent  thought,  of  a  thought  of  love  to 
man,  who  is  the  end  and  aim  of  all  creation,  and  the 
bright  consummate  flower  of  this  admirable  organiza- 
tion ? 

Yes,  certainly,  it  is  so.  Faith  so  teaches,  inspir- 
ing us  with  this  sentiment,  vague  still,  yet  profound. 
Science  so  teaches  by  a  patient  and  long-continued 
study,  reserving  this  sublime  view  as  the  sweetest 
reward  for  our  labor.  Faith,  enlightened  and  ex- 
pounded by  science,  —  the  union  of  faith  and  science, — 
is  living,  harmonious  knowledge,  is  perfected  faith,  for 
it  has  become  vision. 

I  have  sought,  gentlemen,  to  introduce  you  to  the 
living  knowledge  of  our  globe,  in  the  modest  measure 
it  is  given  me  to  do  it.  In  spite  of  the  imperfec- 
tion of  this  knowledge,  of  which  I  feel  that  I  have  only 


334  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

touched  upon  the  margin,  if  you  have  followed  me.  you 
have  had  one  more  intellectual  experience,  and  you 
admire  with  me  the  Author  of  so  fair  a  creation. 

If  your  heart  has  felt  the  benevolent  purposes  that 
have  throughout  presided  over  these  arrangements,  if  it 
is  convinced  that  everything  in  nature  and  history  is 
ordained  to  guide  us  to  happiness  by  lifting  us  up  to 
Him,  then  it  is  grateful,  then  it  loves  in  turn. 

If  the  heart  admires  and  loves,  it  adores ;  and  that  is 
the  only  worship  worthy  of  rational  man,  the  only  ser- 
vice his  Maker  asks  and  accepts  at  his  hands. 


THE  END. 


mm®  m®  m®©^ 

50  WASHINGTON  STREET,  BOSTON, 

WOULD  CALL  PARTICULAR  ATTENTION  TO  THE  FOLLOWING  VALUABLE  WORKS,  DESCRIBED 
IN  THEIR  CATALOGUE  OF  PUBLICATIONS,  VIZ.: 

THE   ANNUAL   OF   SCIENTIFIC  DISCOVERY. 

HUGH  MILLER'S  WORKS. 

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ANCIENT  LITERATURE  AND  ART,  BY  EDWARDS,  SEARS,  AND  FELTON 

ARVINE'S  CYCLOPEDIA  OF  ANECDOTES. 

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KOTO'S  CYCLOPAEDIA  OF  BIBLICAL  LITERATURE.     KITTO'S  PALESTINE. 

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THE   PSALMIST:   A  COLLECTION   OF  HYMNS. 

ELEGANT  MINIATURE  VOLUMES. 

WILLIAMS'    RELIGIOUS    PROGRESS,    AND    LORD'S  PRAYER. 

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ripley's  sacred  rhetoric,  —  notes  on  gospels  and  acts, 
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WORKS  IN 

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RELIGIOUS  WORKS. 
VALUABLE    MISCELLANEOUS  WORKS. 


THE  EARTH  AND  MAN  :  Lectures  on  Comparative  Physical  Geography,  in  it* 
relation  to  the  History  of  Mankind.  By  Arnold  Guyot,  Professor  of  Physical  Geography 
and  History,  INeuchatel  Translated  from  the  French,  by  Prof.  C.  C.  Felton,  with  illus- 
trations.   Second  thousand.     12mo,  cloth,....  1,2s 

"  Those  who  hr.ve  been  accustomed  to  regard  Geography  as  a  merely  descriptive  branch  of  learn- 
ing, drier  than  the  remainder  biscuit  after  a  voyage,  will  be  delighted  to  find  this  hitherto  un- 
attractive pursuit  converted  into  a  science,  the  principles  of  which  are  definite  md  the  results 
conclusive." — Worth  American  Review. 

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ical march  cf  history.  Faith,  science,  learning,  poetry,  taste,  in  a  word,  genius,  have  liberally 
contributed  to  the  production  of  the  work  under  review.  Sometimes  we  feel  as  if  we  were 
■tudylag  s.  treatise  on  the  exact  sciences ;  at  others,  it  strikes  the  ear  like  an  epic  poem.  Now  it 
reads  Like  history,  and  now  it  sounds  like  prophecy.  It  will  find  readers  in  whatever  language 
it  may  be  published." — Christian  Examiner. 

"  The  work  is  one  of  high  merit,  exhibiting  a  wide  range  of  knowledge,  great  research,  and  a 
philosophical  spirit  of  investigation.  Its  perusal  will  well  repay  the  most  learned  in  such  subjects, 
and  give  new  views  to  all,  of  man's  relation  to  the  globe  he  inhabits." — Silliman's  Journal. 

COMPARATIVE   PHYSICAL   AND    HISTORICAL  GEOGRAPHY;   or,  tho 

Study  of  the  Earth  and  its  Inhabitants.  A  series  of  graduated  courses  for  the  use  of 
Schools.   By  Arnold  Guyot,  author  of  "  Earth  and  Man,"  etc. 

The  series  hereby  announced  will  consist  of  three  courses,  adapted  to  the  capacity  of  three  dif- 
ferent ages  and  periods  of  study.  The  first  is  intended  for  primary  schools,  and  for  children  of 
from  seven  to  ten  years.  The  second  is  adapted  for  higher  schools,  and  for  young  persons  of  from 
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Each  course  will  be  divided  into  two  parts,  one  of  purely  Physical  Geography,  the  other  for  Eth- 
nography, Statistics,  Political  and  Historical  Geography.  Each  part  will  be  illustrated  by  a  colored 
Physical  and  Political  Atlas,  prepared  expressly  for  this  purpose,  delineating,  with  the  greatest 
care,  the  configuration  of  the  surface,  and  the  other  physical  phenomena  alluded  to  in  the  corres- 
ponding work,  the  distribution  of  the  races  of  men,  and  the  political  divisions  into  States,  $rc,  fyc. 

The  two  parts  of  the  first  or  preparatory  course  are  now  in  a  forward  state  of  preparation,  and 
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MURAL  MA  PS  :  a  series  of  elegant  colored  Maps,  exhibiting  the  Physical  Phenomena 
of  the  Globe.  Projected  on  a  large  scale,  and  intended  to  be  suspended  in  the  Recitation 
Room.    By  Arnold  Guyot  r  [in  preparation] 

KITTO'S  POPULAR  CYCLOP/EDIA  OF  BIBLICAL  LITERATURE.  Con- 
densed from  the  larger  work.  By  John  Kitto,  D.  D.,  F.  S.  A.,  author  of  "The  Pictoral 
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Of  immense  labor  and  research,  and  enriched  by  the  contributions  of  writers  of  distinguished 
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The  Cyclopaedia  of  Biblical  Literature  from  which  this  work  is  condensed  by  the  author,  it 
published  in  two  volumes,  rendering  it  about  twice  the  size  of  the  present  work,  and  is  intended, 
says  the  author,  more  particularly  for  Ministers  and  Theological  Students;  while  the  Pindar 
Cyclopaedia  is  intended  for  Parents,  Sabbath  School  Teachers,  and  the  great  body  of  the  religious 
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NEW    FiEVISED  EDITION. 


THE  EARTH  AND  MAN: 

LECTURES    ON   COMPARATIVE    PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 
BY    ARNOLD  GUYOT. 

TESTIMONIALS 

IN  FAVOR  OF  THE  FIRST  EDITION  OF  THIS  WORK. 

From  Prof.  Louis  Agassiz,  of  Harvard  University. 
11  Gentlemen  :  —  I  understand  that  you  are  publishing  the  Lectures  of  Prof.  Guyot 
on  Physical  Geography.  Having  been  his  friend  from  childhood,  as  a  fellow-student 
in  college,  and  as  a  colleague  in  the  same  university,  I  may  be  permitted  to  express 
my  high  sense  of  the  value  of  his  attainments.  Mr.  Guyot  has  not  only  been  in  the 
best  school,  that  of  Ritter  and  Humboldt,  and  become  familiar  with  the  present  state 
of  the  science  of  our  earth,  but  he  has  himself,  in  many  instances,  drawn  new  conclu- 
sions from  the  facts  now  ascertained,  and  presented  most  of  them  in  a  new  point  of 
view.  Several  of  the  most  brilliant  generalizations  developed  in  his  lectures  are  his ; 
and  will  not  only  render  the  study  of  geography  more  attractive,  but  actually  show  it 
in  its  true  light,  namely,  as  the  science  of  the  relations  which  exist  between  nature 
and  man,  throughout  history;  of  the  contrasts  observed  between  the  different  parts 
of  the  globe ;  of  the  laws  of  horizontal  and  vertical  forms  of  the  dry  land,  in  its  con- 
tact with  the  sea;  of  climate,  &c.  It  would  be  highly  serviceable,  it  seems  to  me, 
for  the  benefit  of  schools  and  teachers,  that  you  should  induce  Mr.  Guyot  to  write  a 
series  of  graduated  text-books  of  geography,  from  the  first  elements  up  to  a  scientific 
treatise.  It  would  give  new  life  to  these  studies  in  this  country,  and  be  the  best  prep- 
aration for  sound  statistical  investigations." 

From  Prof.  George  Ticknor,  Boston. 
"I  was  very  glad  to  learn,  that  you  intend  to  publish  Mr.  Guyot's  Lectures  on 
Physical  Geography.  Their  familiar  and  simple  manner  will,  I  hope,  cause  them  to 
be  used  in  our  schools,  where  I  think  their  modest  learning  and  religious  philosophy 
wi!l  make  them  an  excellent  foundation  for  the  study  of  all  geography,  as  it  is  now 
taught,  and  especially  of  that  higher  geography  which  connects  itself  with  the  desti- 
nies of  the  whole  human  race." 

From  George  S.  Hillard,  Esq.,  Boston. 
"Professor  Guyot's  Lectures  are  marked  by  learning,  ability  and  taste.  FamLXai 
with  the  labors  of  all  who  have  gone  before  him,  he  has  been  himself  an  extensive  and 
accurate  observer.  His  bold  and  comprehensive  generalizations  rest  upon  a  careful 
foundation  of  facts.  The  essential  value  of  his  statements  is  enhanced  by  his  luir.i- 
nous  arrangement,  and  by  a  vein  of  philosophical  reflection  which  gives  life  and 
dignity  to  dry  details.  Such  a  work  as  his  Lectures  will  furnish  will  be  a  valuable 
accession  to  our  literature.  I  cannot  think  so  lightly  of  the  judgment  and  taste  of  our 
community,  as  to  entertain  any  doubt  of  its  success.  To  teachers  of  youth  it  will  be 
especially  important.  They  may  learn  from  it  how  to  make  Geography,  which  I 
recall  as  the  least  interesting  of  studies,  one  of  the  most  attractive;  and  1  earnestly 
commend  it  to  their  careful  consideration/' 


TESTIMONIALS. 


From  Prof.  C.  C.  Felton,  of  Harvard  University. 
"I  cannot  help  believing  that  by  publishing  the  volume  you  will  render  an  accepta- 
ble service  to  an  intelligent  and  appreciating  public.    The  original  lectures,  in  point 
of  style,  are  characterized  by  simplicity  and  elegance." 

From  Charles  Sumner,  Esq.,  Boston. 
"It  was  my  good  fortune  to  hear  several  of  these  Lectures,  as  delivered,  and  I  have 
since  read  them  all  in  print.    The  instruction  and  satisfaction  which  they  have  j 
afford  3d  to  me,  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  within  the  reach  of  others.    Beyond  the  intrinsic  j 
interest  of  the  subject,  they  have  the  charm  of  simplicity  and  clearness,  while  the  \ 
elevated  sentiment  which  inspires  the  lecturer,  and  which  naturally  belongs  to  his 
theme,  makes  science  seem  like  a  Christian  preacher.    Most  truly  do  I  thank  him  for  i 
leashing  so  persuasively  the  duties  of  the  superior  races  of  men  towards  the  races 
which  are  inferior  in  the  scale  of  creation  —  to  succor,  protect,  and  elevate,  not  to  .' 
subdue,  depress,  and  enslave.    Thus  has  he  drawn  from  these  founts  of  science  the 
divine  lesson  of  charity  and  good-will  to  men." 

From  Prof  Benjamin  Peirce,  of  Harvard  University. 
11  Having  heard  or  read  the  greater  portion  of  Professor  Guyot's  Lectures  on  Physi- 
cal Geography,  I  cannot  forbear  expressing  the  strong  feeling  which  I  have,  of  their 
scientific  and  literary  merits,  and  of  the  importance  of  their  publication.  He  has  set 
himself  to  work  at  the  foundation  of  an  almost  new  science,  with  the  ability  and  sim- 
plicity of  a  true  master ;  he  has  developed  profound  and  original  views,  with  the  most 
enlarged  variety  and  richness  of  illustration,  and  in  the  most  attractive  and  eloquent 
forms  of  language.  His  ingenious  investigations,  sustained  by  faithful  and  conscien- 
tious research,  are  an  invaluable  addition  to  science ;  while  the  vivid  and  picturesque 
earnestness  of  their  utterance  cannot  fail  to  charm  the  least  learned  of  his  readers." 

From  Rev.  Edward  N.  Kirk,  Boston. 
"Many  will  hail  with  delight  the  introduction  of  Prof.  Guyot  to  the  great  field  of 
education  in  our  country.  His  Lectures  on  Physical  Geography  will  open  a  new 
career  of  study  to  many  of  our  teachers,  as  well  as  learners ;  and  will  form  to  them  a 
true  scientific  basis  for  the  study  of  History.  And  if  Mr.  Guyot  can  follow  this  work 
by  some  elementary  books  for  schools,  he  will  increase  his  claims  to  the  gratitude  of 
the  country  which  is  now  ready  to  adopt  him." 

From  George  B.  Emerson,  Esq.,  Boston. 

"I  received,  some  time  ago,  a  copy  of  Prof.  Guyot's  excellent  work  on  Physical 
Geography,  which  the  business  of  my  school  prevented  me  from  acknowledging.  I 
avail  myself  of  my  earliest  leisure  to  thank  you  for  it.  The  work  contaii s  much 
which  has  not  been  made  accessible  to  English  readers,  and  much  of  original  generali- 
zation, which  render  it  a  most  valuable  work.  It  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
teacher  of  Geography.  It  will  enable  him  to  read  and  understand  the  high  lessons 
which  the  study  of  nature  is  calculated  to  teach,  but  which,  without  some  guiding 
philosophical  principles,  are  apt  to  be  missed,  or  to  be  lost  sight  of.  It  will  enable  him, 
in  very  many  particulars,  to  give  an  interest  to  the  study  of  Geography,  which  mere 
barren,  unrelated,  unassociated  facts  can  never  possess  to  the  youthful  student.  It 
brings  the  imagination,  and  the  desire  to  search  into  causes,  to  the  aid  of  the  memory. 

"Much  of  the  chapters  relating  to  the  distribution  of  rains  is,  so  far  as  I  know, 
now  for  the  first  time  laid  before  the  American  reader  by  the  American  press.  The 
publication  of  the  work  will  mark  an  era  in  the  teaching  of  Geography." 


THE  EARTH  AND  MAN: 

Lectures  on  Comparative  Physical  Geography,  in  its  Relation  to  the  History 
of  Mankind. 

By  Arnold  Guyot,  Prof.  Phys.  Geo.  &  Hist.  Neuchatcl. 
Translated  from  the  French,  by  Prof.  C.  C.  Felton.  —  With  Illustrations. 
Revised  Edition.    12mo.    Price  $1.25. 


"  Those  who  have  been  accustomed  to  regard  Geography  as  a  merely  de=cripti\e 
branch  of  learning,  drier  than  the  remainder  biscuit  after  a  voyage,  will  be  delighted 
to  find  this  hitherto  unattractive  pursuit  converted  into  a  science,  the  principles  cf 
which  are  definite  and  the  results  conclusive  ;  a  science  that  embraces  the  investiga- 
tion of  natural  laws  and  interprets  their  mode  of  operation  ;  which  professes  to  dis 
cover  in  the  rudest  forms  and  apparently  confused  arrangement  of  the  materials  com- 
posing the  planets'  crust,  a  new  manifestation  of  the  wisdom  which  lias  filled  the 
earth  with  its  riches.  *  *  *  To  the  reader  we  shall  owe  no  apology,  if  we  have 
said  enough  to  excite  his  curiosity  and  to  persuade  him  to  look  to  the  book  itself  for 
further  instruction." — North  American  Review. 

"  The  grand  idea  of  the  work  is  happily  expressed  by  the  author,  where  he  calls  it 
the  geographical  march  of  history.  *  *  *  The  man  of  science  w>ll  bail  it  as  a  beauti- 
ful generalization  from  the  facts  of  observation.  The  Christian,  who  trusts  in  a  mer 
eiful  Providence,  will  draw  courage  from  it,  and  hope  yet  more  earnestly  for  the 
redemption  of  the  most  degraded  portions  of  mankind.  Faith,  science,  learning, 
poetry,  taste,  in  a  word,  genius,  have  liberally  contributed  to  the  production  of  the 
work  under  review.  Sometimes  we  feel  as  if  we  were  studying  a  treatise  on  the 
exact  sciences  ;  at  others,  it  strikes  the  ear  like  an  epic  poem.  Now  it  read3  like 
history,  and  now  it  sounds  like  prophecy.  It  will  find  readers  in  whatever  language 
it  may  be  published  ;  and  in  the  elegant  English  dress  which  it  has  received  from  the 
accomplished  pen  of  the  translator,  it  will  not  fail  to  interest,  instruct  and  inspire. 

We  congratulate  the  lovers  of  history  and  of  physical  geography,  as  well  as  all 
those  who  are  interested  in  the  growth  and  expansion  of  our  common  education,  that 
Prof.  Guyot  contemplates  the  publication  of  a  series  of  elementary  works  on  Physical 
Geography,  in  which  tbese  two  great  branches  of  study  which  God  has  so  closely 
joined  together,  will  not,  we  trust,  be  put  asunder." — Christian  Examiner. 

"  A  copy  of  this  volume  reached  us  at  too  late  an  hour  for  an  extended  notice.  The 
work  is  one  of  high  merit,  exhibiting  a  wide  range  of  knowledge,  great  research,  and 
a  philosophical  spirit  of  investigation.  Its  perusal  will  well  repay  the  most  learned 
in  such  subjects,  and  give  new  views  to  all,  of  man's  relation  to  the  globe  he  inhabits." 
Silliman,s  Journal,  July,  1849. 

"  These  lectures  form  one  of  the  most  valuable  contributions  to  geographical  science 
that  has  ever  been  published  in  this  country.  They  invest  the  study  of  geography 
with  an  interest  which  will,  we  doubt  not,  surprise  and  delight  many.  They  will 
open  an  entire  new  world  to  most  readers,  and  will  be  found  an  invaluable  aid  to  the 
teacher  and  student  of  geography."~£ue/im^  Traveller. 

"  We  venture  to  pronounce  this  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  instructive  books 
which  have  come  from  the  American  press  for  many  a  month.  The  science  of  which 
it  treats  is  comparative!yrof  recent  origin,  but  it  is  of  great  importance,  not  only  on 
account  of  its  connections  with  other  branches  of  knowledge,  but  for  its  bearing  upon 
many  of  the  interests  of  society.  In  these  lectures  it  is  relieved  of  statistical  details, 
and  presented  only  in  its  grandest  features.  It  thus  not  only  places  before  us  most 
instructive  facts  relating  to  the  condition  of  the  earth,  but  also  awakens  within  us  a 
stronger  sympathy  with  the  beings  that  inhabit  it,  and  a  profounder  reverence  for  the 
beneficent  Creator  who  formed  it,  and  of  whose  character  it  is  a  manifestation  and 
expression.  They  abound  with  the  richest  interest  and  instruction  to  every  intelli- 
gerr:  render,  and  especially  fitted  to  awaken  enthusiasm  and  delight  in  all  who  are 
devoted  the  study  either  of  natural  science  or  the  history  of  mankind." — Providcna 
Journal. 

«"  Geography  is  here  presented  under  a  new  and  attractive  phase  ;  it  is  no  longer  » 
dry  description  of  the  features  of  the  earth's  surface.  The  influence  of  soil  scenery 
and  climate  upon  character,  has  not  yet  received  the  consideration  due  to  it  from  his- 
torians and  philosophers.  In  the  volume  before  us  the  profound  investigations  of  Hum- 
boldt, Ritter  and  others,  in  Physical  Geography,  are  presented  in  a  popular  form,  and 
with  the  clearness  and  vivacity  so  characteristic  of  French  treatises  on  science.  The 
work  should  be  introduced  into  our  higher  schools." — The  Independent,  New  York. 

"  Geography  is  here  made  to  assume  a  dignity,  not  heretofore  attached  to  it.  The 
knowledge  communicated  iu  these  Lectures  is  c  irious,  unexpected,  absorbing."— 

Christian  Mirror*  Portland. 


COMPARATIVE 


PHYSICAL  AND   HISTORICAL  GEOGRAPHY, 

OR    THE    STUDY  OF 

THE  EARTH  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS. 

A.  SERIES  OF  GRADUATED  COURSES  FOR  THE  USE  OF  SCHOOLS. 

BY   ARNOLD  GUYOT. 
Late  Professor  of  Physical  Geography  and  History,  at  Neuchatel,  Switzerland^ 
Author  of  "  Earth  and  Man"  etc, 

G.,  K.  §  L.  are  happy  to  announce  that  the  above  work,  which  has  been  undertaken 
in  compliance  with  the  earnest  solicitations  of  numerous  teachers  and  friends  of  education, 
is  in  a  forward  state  of  preparation.  The  plan  of  the  author,  and  the  principal  charac* 
teristics  of  this  series  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  exposition  of  the  subject  : 

A  knowledge  of  the  globe  we  inhabit,  whether  considered  in  itself  alone,  or  in  tt3 
relations  to  man,  the  distribution  of  the  races  of  men,  and  the  civil  divisions  of  its  sur- 
lace,  are  subjects  of  interest  too  varied,  too  direct,  and  too  vital,  not  to  command  the 
attention,  and  excite  the  sympathy  of  the  mind  at  every  period  of  life. 

If  Geography  has  been  considered  a  dry  and  often  fruitless  study, — if  indeed,  tc 
fceach  it  with  success  has  been  considered  as  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  in  edu- 
cation, there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  difficulty  lies  not  in  the  subject  but  in  the 
method  of  teaching  it. 

In  most  manuals  the  accumulation  of  facts,  and  especially  the  want  of  an  arrange- 
ment of  them,  really  corresponding  to  their  connection  in  nature,  renders  the  study 
difficult,  and  overburdens  the  memory  at  the  expense  of  a  true  and  thorough  under- 
standing of  the  subject.  Hence  there  is  confusion  and  a  want  of  clear  and  comprehen- 
sive views,  and  consequently  a  lack  of  interest  for  the  student.  For,  if  the  mind  seeka 
to  comprehend,  it  is  only  interested  in  what  appears  clear  and  well  connected.  To  attain 
to  this  end  it  is  necessary — 

First.  To  attempt  a  rigid  selection  of  materials,  and  to  reject  from  school  instruc- 
tion all  details  which  have  but  a  transient  value,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  render 
facts  of  permanent  value  prominent ;  preferring,  for  instance,  the  details  of  Physical 
Geography  and  of  Ethnography,  to  those  of  Statistics,  which  may  find  a  larger  place 
Elsewhere. 

Second.  To  distribute  geographical  instruction  throughout  the  whole  course  of  edu- 
cation, so  as  to  divide  the  labor  of  learning,  and  to  give  at  the  same  time  to  each  period 
of  life  the  nutriment  most  appropriate  for  its  intellectual  taste  and  capacity.  To  this 
end,  the  globe  should  be  studied  from  the  different  points  of  view  successively  ;  gradu- 
ating each  view  to  the  capacity  of  different  classes  of  students.  At  first,  the  funda- 
mental outlines,  alone,  should  be  presented,  and  next,  not  only  additional  facts,  but  a 
deeper  understanding  of  the  connection,  and  so  on  ;  and  thus,  by  a  regular  and  natural 
path,  a  full  and  intelligent  knowledge  of  the  globe  in  all  its  relations,  will  be  finally 
attained. 

Third.  The  comparative  method,  recently  adopted  with  so  much  success  in  Europe, 
should  always  be  employed  ;  for  it  is  by  the  recognition  of  resemblances  and  differences 
that  the  mind  seizes  upon  the  true  characters,  and  perceives  the  natural  relations,  and 
the  admirable  connection,  of  the  different  parts  which  form  the  grand  whole  ;  in  a 
word,  gains  real  knowledge. 

The  series  hereby  announced  is  designed  to  meet  these  wants.  It  will  consist  of  three 
courses  adapted  to  the  capacity  of  three  different  ages  and  periods  of  study.  The  first 
i3  intended  for  primary  schools,  and  for  children  of  from  seven  to  ten  years.  The 
second  is  adapted  for  higher  schools,  and  for  young  persons  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  years. 
The  third  is  to  be  used  as  a  scientific  manual  in  Academies  and  Colleges. 

Each  course  will  be  divided  into  two  parts,  one  of  purely  Physical  Geography,  the 
other  for  Ethnography,  Statistics,  Political  and  Historical  Geography.  Each  part  will 
be  illustrated  by  a  colored  Physical  and  Political  Atlas,  prepared  expressly  for  this 
purpose,  delineating,  with  the  greatest  care,  the  configuration  of  the  surface,  and 
the  other  physical  phenomena  alluded  to  in  the  corresponding  work,  the  distribution 
of  the  races  of  men,  and  the  political  divisions  into  States.  Each  part  with  the  corres- 
ponding maps  will  be  sold  separately. 

The  two  parts  of  the  first,  or  preparatory  course,  are  now  in  a  forward  state  of  pr* 
paration,  and  will  be  issued  at  an  early  day. 


Also,  in  preparation,  by  the  same  Author, 

A  SERIES  OF  ELEGANTLY  COLORED  MURAL  MAPS, 

EXHIBITING 

THE  PHYSICAL  PHENOMENA  OF  THE  GLOBE, 

PROJECTED  ON  A  LARGE  SCALE,  FOR  THE  RECITATION  ROOM. 


